Abstract
Understanding the kinematics of a hindlimb model is a fundamental aspect of modeling coordinated locomotion. This work describes the development process of a rat hindlimb model that contains a complete muscular system and incorporates physiological walking data to examine realistic muscle movements during a step cycle. Moment arm profiles for selected muscles are analyzed and presented as the first steps to calculating torque generation at hindlimb joints. A technique for calculating muscle moment arms from muscle attachment points in a three-dimensional (3D) space has been established. This model accounts for the configuration of adjacent joints, a critical aspect of biarticular moment arm analysis that must be considered when calculating joint torque. Moment arm profiles from isolated muscle motions are compared to two existing models. The dependence of biarticular muscle’s moment arms on the configuration of the adjacent joint is a critical aspect of moment arm analysis that must be considered when calculating joint torque. The variability in moment arm profiles suggests changes in muscle function during a step.
Highlights
In recent years, models of multimuscled systems have sought to replicate both the kinematics and control regimes of living organisms
As part of model validation, single-joint articulation was compared to moment arm data from Johnson et al [17] and Charles et al [18]. These works focus on moment arm generation in static models of the mouse and rat hindlimb, respectively
The moment arms have been scaled to the femur lengths of the respective animals
Summary
Models of multimuscled systems have sought to replicate both the kinematics and control regimes of living organisms. These models are being used to explore the challenges of coordinating many actuators to move a relatively small number of joints. Muscle redundancy has long been characterized as a defense mechanism to preserve limb actuation in the case of individual muscle failure. This assumption has pivoted from less of a physiological imperative to more of Biomimetics 2019, 4, 10; doi:10.3390/biomimetics4010010 www.mdpi.com/journal/biomimetics
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