Session: 05-11-01: Musculoskeletal and Sports Biomechanics I

Paper Number: 70289

Start Time: Friday, 01:35 PM

70289 - Evaluating Bicep Stiffness in Increasing Age Groups 

Over many years muscle tissue is continuously broken down and reformed through hypertrophy, where the muscle is damaged and then the fibers are fused together to increase muscle in mass and size. As a person ages muscle tissue makeup changes based on 2 significant factors: lifestyle and genetics. Diagnosing significant injuries in this tissue requires the use of expensive technology (magnetic resonance imaging or electromyography) and invasive techniques.

In the industry, there are various methods to collect physical attributes of skeletal muscle groups. These methods range from elastography, electromyography, ultrasound methods, and myotonometry. While these methods are tried and true, they can lead to expensive equipment and trial costs. There are methods such as Ultrasound (US) imaging and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which are used clinically to determine the stiffness variations in muscles or tendon. However, these  methods require complex signal processing and an experienced technician unlike using the accelerometer method.

 

The focus of the study is to find an accurate, cost effective method to analyze muscle stiffness, and to observe a trend between age and muscle stiffness. The devices used in the study are a Modally Hand Impact Hammer, and three miniature PCB accelerometers. In order to capture data, the Impact Hammer is used to excite a shear wave across the Bicep Brachii. Moreover, US

imaging technique is limited in measuring high shear wave speed values which are greater than 17 m/s. In this research, 1D accelerometers are used which measure acceleration and through cross correlation signal processing technique, shear wave propagation speed is found in bicep. The modulus of elasticity (E) was found through the use of the following equation: 𝐸 = 3𝜌𝑉².

In this equation, ρ represents the density of the tendon and V is the velocity of the shear wave propagation.

From there, the data is collected in a Signal Express software and evaluated for accuracy within MATLAB figures. The data was collected from 10 subjects with no nueromusclar disorder and the age varies from 10 years to 60 years. There is a trend in the stiffness increase when 10 lb weight is lifted for every subject. This is a clear indication that this shear wave elastogrhay method is repeatable and reliable. There was no clear indication that age affected the stiffness. However, this could be disproved by collecting data from a larger subject pool. The data collected was validated by other studies using tried methods.

Presenting Author: Muhammad Salman Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering

Authors:

Muhammad Salman Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering
Zachary Contois Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering
M. Hassan Tanveer Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering