Multibody dynamic modeling of the upper limb for the quantification of muscle force co-contraction and synergy strategies during motion

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The goal of this biomedical engineering research program is to quantify individual muscle forces during upper limb motion in healthy adults. This will also enable to explain the temporal evolution of muscle strategies of co-contraction, i.e. opposite actions of muscles on each side of a joint, and synergy, i.e. joint actions of muscles on the same side of a joint, for fundamental knowledge and future innovative applications in sports, robotics, rehabilitation, orthopedics, ergonomics and/or prevention. The program includes 3 specific objectives: 1. Develop a biofidelic and personalized dynamic model of the upper limb, enabling to quantify muscle forces during motion. 2. Validate it as far as possible using nerve motor blocs, i.e. locally anesthetizing selected muscles. 3. Use it to understand the muscle overactuation strategies during flexion/extension, pronation/supination, and pointing task.The novelty of this research program is double:1. The goal will be achieved through a unique scientific approach based on the development of a biofidelic and personalized dynamic method assessing the muscle forces in the human body in motion.2. This objective of improving the understanding of muscle overactuation in the human body during motion is completely innovant in literature and of great interest concerning current demands for personalized muscle force quantification in the clinical and industrial domains. The main fields of applications will be rehabilitation and orthopedic domain for the evaluation and follow-up of musculo-skeletal pathologies and the design of assistive device, and the sport domain for the analysis and improvement of athletic performance. The trainingship of undergraduate and graduate students is a fundamental part of this multi-disciplinary research program, which will allow them to develop strong skills in applied mechanics (biomechanical modeling, multibody dynamics) and experimentation (design of experimental protocol, analyses of error, reproducibility and sensitivity). Finally, this research program will also enable to develop international collaborations.