A new method to determine the biomechanical properties of human and dummy joints

Parenteau, Chantal S.; Viano, David C.

Affiliations

¹Department of Injury Prevention, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

²General Motors Research & Development Center, Warren MI, USA

Abstract

A new method has been developed to determine the essential biomechanical responses of human and dummy joints. Moment-angle characteristics are measured for a quasistatic input about a fixed or moving center of rotation. In the test, the joint angle is increased and the resulting moment, forces, and linear and rotational displacements are measured.

The moment-angle characteristics for a joint are assessed separately for and extension, and the orientation of rotation can be in the medial, lateral or vertical axes. The method is used to determine joint characteristics (kinematics and biomechanics) for human foot-ankle joints within the natural and injury range of motion. Preliminary results of human ankle-subtalar are given for failure in inversion/eversion. Moment-angle responses for the Hybrid III neck and ankle are also presented.

The center of rotation was determined from the displacement of the reaction plate supporting the bottom aspect of the joint. For example, the center of rotation of the foot-ankle is confirmed as the center the spherical joint in the Hybrid III dummy leg. More complicated joints have a moving center of rotation with joint rotation, as for the ankle-subtalar joints in inversion/eversion.

The moment-angle relation for the Hybrid III neck and ankle were determined using the input torque and the reaction moment and loads. These data are sufficient to estimate the accuracy of the method. The analysis showed that the reaction moment and load could reproduce the input torque to within 5% (p 0.05). The Hybrid III neck was first tested in flexion and extension to 28°, and in lateral rotation to ±13°. The input torque ranged up to - 17 Nm in extension, 40 Nm in flexion, - 25 Nm in right lateral and 25 Nm in left lateral rotation. The Hybrid III ankle was tested to - 35° in dorsiflexion, 45° in plantarflexion, and - 25° in inversion and eversion. There is no joint moment in the natural range of motion, - 30° in dorsiflexion, 40° in plantarflexion, - 20° in inversion and 20° in eversion. Beyond the natural range of motion, the moment increases rapidly.

The repeatability of the method was assessed by testing the Hybrid III ankle 5 times to 35° in plantarflexion and - 25° in dorsiflexion. The results are repeatable within 1% variability. The new method provides information on joint responses and kinematics, including the center of rotation for a quasistatic loading condition. The data is useful for future dummy development and mathematical modeling.

Cited Works (1)

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Cited By (11)

Year	Entry
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2001	Kuppa S, Wang J, Haffner M, Eppinger R. Lower extremity injuries and associated injury criteria. In: Proceedings of the 17th International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV). June 4-7, 2001; Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
1996	Petit P, Portier L, Foret-Bruno J-Y, Trosseille X, Parenteau C, Coltat J-C, Tarriere C, Lassau J-P. Quasistatic characterization of the human foot-ankle joints in a simulated tensed state and updated accidentological data. In: Proceedings of the 1996 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 11-13, 1996; Dublin, Ireland.363-376.
2000	Sokol Jaffredo A, Potier P, Robin S, Le Coz J-Y, Lassau J-P. Cadaver lower limb dynamic response in inversion-eversion. In: Proceedings of the 2000 International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact. September 20-22, 2000; Montpellier, France.183-194.
1996	Crandall JR, Portier L, Petit P, Hall GW, Bass CR, Klopp GS, Hurwitz S, Pilkey WD, Trosseille X, Tarrière C, Lassau J-P. Biomechanical response and physical properties of the leg, foot, and ankle. In: Proceedings of the 40th Stapp Car Crash Conference. November 4-6, 1996; Albuquerque, NM. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers:173-192. SAE 962424.
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2002	Funk JR, Srinivasan SCM, Crandall JR, Khaewpong N, Eppinger RH, Jaffredo AS, Potier P, Petit PY. The effects of axial preload and dorsiflexion on the tolerance of the ankle/subtalar joint to dynamic inversion and eversion. Stapp Car Crash J. 2002;46:245-265. SAE 2002-22-0013.
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1998	Parenteau CS, Viano DC, Petit PY. Biomechanical properties of human cadaveric ankle-subtalar joints in quasi-static loading. J Biomech Eng. February 1998;120(1):105-111.
2016	Van Tuyl J, Burkhart TA, Quenneville CE. Effect of posture on forces and moments measured in a Hybrid III ATD lower leg. Traffic Inj Prev. May 18, 2016;17(4):381-385.
2014	Van Tuyl JT. Development of a Force Sensing Insole to Quantify Impact Loading to the Foot in Various Postures [Master's thesis]. Hamilton, ON: McMaster University; 2014.