MRI: Acquisition of Mechanical Testing Equipment to Support Musculoskeletal Research and Engineering Education

这项主要研究仪器（MRI）补助金为购买机械测试设备提供资金，以支持肌肉骨骼研究和工程教育。 测量生物组织（如韧带和骨骼）的力学特性对于了解这些组织的功能非常重要。 机械性能的表征通常使用测试机器进行，该测试机器向组织样本施加已知的力，然后记录所产生的位移。 本项目将采购能够进行双轴加载的机械测试设备和相关运动仪器，主要用于肌肉骨骼和骨科研究。 密苏里州堪萨斯城大学的研究人员正在解决与衰老和肌肉骨骼健康相关的广泛问题，包括运动模拟、肌肉骨骼生物力学、生物材料、骨骼对机械负荷的反应、肌肉疲劳和衰老、骨修复和再生以及细胞水平功能的研究。所要求的机械测试设备将大大加强身体、器官和组织层面的肌肉骨骼研究。 此外，仪器将直接纳入机械和土木工程的五门课程。这些课程覆盖了本科生和研究生，他们的教育将通过在最先进的设备上学习而得到加强。 计算机与工程学院位于堪萨斯城的中心地带，每年接待数百名来自当地城市堪萨斯城学校的学生，实验室演示是这些访问的重要组成部分。这些设备还将服务于堪萨斯城更广泛的研究和工程社区。 密苏里州堪萨斯城大学拥有堪萨斯城大都会区唯一的工程项目，该社区人口超过200万。

This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant provides funding for the acquisition of mechanical testing equipment to support musculoskeletal research and engineering eduction. Measuring the mechanical properties of biological tissue, such as ligaments and bone, is important for understanding the function of these tissues. Characterization of mechanical properties is often performed using testing machines that apply a known force to tissue specimens and then record the resulting displacement. This project will purchase mechanical testing equipment capable of bi-axial loading and related motion instrumentation for use primarily in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic research. Researchers at the University of Missouri Kansas City are addressing a broad spectrum of issues related to aging and musculoskeletal health including research in movement simulation, musculoskeletal biomechanics, biomaterials, bone response to mechanical loading, muscle fatigue and aging, bone repair and regeneration, and cell level function. The requested mechanical testing equipment will significantly enhance musculoskeletal research at the body, organ, and tissue levels. In addition, the instrumentation will be directly incorporated into five courses in mechanical and civil engineering. These courses reach a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students whose education would be enhanced through learning on state-of-the-art equipment. Located in the heart of Kansas City, the School of Computing and Engineering hosts hundreds of students per year from local urban Kansas City schools and laboratory demonstrations are an important component of these visits. The equipment will also serve the broader research and engineering communities of Kansas City. The University of Missouri Kansas City has the only engineering program in the Kansas City metro area, a community of over 2 million people.