Engineering >> Other

Numerical and Graphical Differentiation in a Shoulder Abduction Range of Motion Task

by Justin Bland

 

Submitted : Spring 2017


In order to make advancements on future technologies such as exo-skeletons and further improve current medical feats such as prosthetics, biomechanical engineers use a variety of tools and mathematical concepts to decipher the movements and speeds required to keep up with a living organisms bodily functions. In order to test the limits of a human’s range of motion, engineers place a test subject outfitted with motion sensing balls attached to boney regions of the persons examined areas. For this case in particular, the test is being focused on the range of motion of the shoulder through the right hand of a person partaking in some ordinary daily task. In order to solve questions relating to the velocities, displacement, and acceleration endured by the human shoulder, it is a must to rely on skills obtained from lessons in calculus and calculus based physics. Derivatives and integrals are heavily reliant in this problem as tangent lines and slopes of the points surrounding the time 0.6s and 1.6s must be found in order to find average and instantaneous velocities. Results from the experiment were along the lines of what were hypothesized. The data samples produced by the ROM depicted relatively large movements in the x and y axis while little to no movement existed in the z axis. This is because in a joint such as the shoulder, horizontal and vertical movement will be much more prominent than forward and backward movement. These numbers can be used and taken into account when making pieces for prosthetics and exo-skeletons as they can be used to determine the stress being applied to the particular regions of the body. These discoveries don’t have to be used on just exterior and medical purposes. These calculations can be used by athletes to help develop less straining workout routines and reduce dependence on certain ligaments and bones in particular parts of the body. Using the featured data can be used to attempt to better distribute work on the body as a whole and keep them healthy for longer periods of time. 


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Advisors :
Arcadii Grinshpan, Mathematics and Statistics
Stephanie Carey, Chemical & Biomedical Engineering
Suggested By :
Stephanie Carey
Numerical and Graphical Differentiation in a Shoulder Abduction Range of Motion Task