MRI: Acquisition of Instrumentation for Comparative Experimental Biomechanics Research

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Ohio University has recently expanded its research and education facilities to allow investigations into the dynamics of movement in large animals. This award will fund the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment at this new facility and support the research and educational activities of faculty, affiliated researchers, graduate students and undergraduates at Ohio University. A motion capture and analysis system will be used to acquire high speed images of body movements. Two videofluoroscopes utilizing x-rays will enable researchers to visualize skeletal movements. When used with the motion capture system hardware and software, these x-ray images can be used to generate 3-dimensional movies of the skeletal movements. A force-plate integrated treadmill will be used to record the forces generated during ground contact at different speeds. Finally, a pressure plate will provide the details of the pressure distribution on the feet during contact with the ground. Additionally, this award will support the continued training and mentoring of a recent PhD in biomechanics research through a postdoctoral position. Individuals utilizing this equipment will study all aspects of musculoskeletal function and movement in animals, with a special emphasis on feeding and locomotion. Feeding studies will evaluate, for example, how jaw movements are coordinated in different animals to direct tooth contacts and motion at the jaw joint. Locomotion studies will focus on gait initiation and transitions and foot contact pressures across a range of speeds to understand how limb movements change during running, walking, and trotting. Research outcomes will include increased scientific understanding of the musculoskeletal form and function across different types of mammals. Movement and force data will also be integrated with anatomical studies of associated muscles and bones to develop models of musculoskeletal evolution. Educational outcomes will include the training of undergraduate and graduate biology and engineering students at Ohio University in the most advanced techniques for understanding musculoskeletal biomechanics. Project outcomes will be disseminated through scientific publications and presentations as well as through public outreach in local and regional venues. Because most of the equipment will enable dynamic visualization of movements of the body, data from these studies provide a unique opportunity to engage the public in the science of motion. Thus, PIs will also generate videos and computer animations from research projects for internet access by the public. These videos will be made available to the public through PIs individual webpages as well as through a facility webpage. These videos will be particularly useful for educational and outreach activities aimed at local public school students in rural southeast Ohio.