Incorporating muscle activation dynamics into the Global Human Body Model

Over 20 million injuries result every year from motor vehicle collisions, with injuries to the neck being among the most prevalent. Muscle activity has been shown to affect head and neck kinematics significantly, especially in low‐speed collisions. The present study develops the framework to introduce strain‐ dependent muscle activation into a widely available computational human body model (HBM) and study the effects on head and neck kinematics. A single MAT_156 beam element from the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) model in combination with a user‐defined subroutine to compute activation levels is used to model active force contributions of a full muscle. The model is validated against contraction velocities of experimental porcine tests, which are loaded with masses of 100−800 grams. CORA ratings between simulation and experimental results range from 0.538 to 0.810. Finally, we incorporate this strain‐dependent muscle activation scheme into the neck of the GHBMC for a low‐loading condition through a head fall test. Though the neck is too stiff when compared with volunteer data, simple modifications may be made to the model which results in closer agreement with experimental findings.

[1]  Veit Wank,et al.  High-frequency oscillations as a consequence of neglected serial damping in Hill-type muscle models , 2007, Biological Cybernetics.

[2]  Johan Davidsson,et al.  Human Volunteer Kinematics in Rear-End Sled Collisions , 2001 .

[3]  Karin Brolin,et al.  Simulation of active skeletal muscle tissue with a transversely isotropic viscohyperelastic continuum material model , 2013, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of engineering in medicine.

[4]  Philipp Wernicke,et al.  Objective rating of signals using test and simulation responses , 2009 .

[5]  Manohar M. Panjabi,et al.  Cervical Spine Ligament Injury during Simulated Frontal Impact , 2004, Spine.

[6]  Joseph L Annest,et al.  Neck strains and sprains among motor vehicle occupants-United States, 2000. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[7]  Michael L Madigan,et al.  Occupant kinematics in low-speed frontal sled tests: Human volunteers, Hybrid III ATD, and PMHS. , 2012, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[8]  Mats Y. Svensson,et al.  Dummy Requirements and Injury Criteria for a Low-Speed Rear Impact Whiplash Dummy , 2007 .

[9]  Matthew B Panzer,et al.  C4-C5 segment finite element model development, validation, and load-sharing investigation. , 2009, Journal of biomechanics.

[10]  H. Hatze.  A general myocybernetic control model of skeletal muscle , 1978, Biological Cybernetics.

[11]  Duane S Cronin,et al.  Finite element modeling of potential cervical spine pain sources in neutral position low speed rear impact. , 2014, Journal of the mechanical behavior of biomedical materials.

[12]  Stefano Corna,et al.  The functional effectiveness of neck muscle reflexes for head-righting in response to sudden fall , 1997, Experimental Brain Research.

[13]  M. Panzer,et al.  Cervical spine response in frontal crash. , 2011, Medical engineering & physics.

[14]  Margaret M. Peden,et al.  World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention , 2004 .

[15]  Maarten F Bobbert,et al.  Is equilibrium point control feasible for fast goal-directed single-joint movements? , 2006, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  Jack M. Winters,et al.  Multiple Muscle Systems: Biomechanics and Movement Organization , 2011 .

[17]  Yuko Nakahira,et al.  Development and Validation of the Total HUman Model for Safety (THUMS) Toward Further Understanding of Occupant Injury Mechanisms in Precrash and During Crash , 2015, Traffic injury prevention.

[18]  F. Zajac.  Muscle and tendon: properties, models, scaling, and application to biomechanics and motor control. , 1989, Critical reviews in biomedical engineering.

[19]  D. J. Thomas,et al.  Human Volunteer Head-Neck Response in Frontal Flexion: a New Analysis , 1995 .

[20]  Duane S Cronin,et al.  Investigation of whiplash injuries in the upper cervical spine using a detailed neck model. , 2012, Journal of biomechanics.

[21]  Jack M. Winters,et al.  An improved muscle-reflex actuator for use in large-scale neuromusculoskeletal models , 1995, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[22]  M. Panjabi,et al.  Injury Mechanisms of the Cervical Intervertebral Disc During Simulated Whiplash , 2004, Spine.

[23]  Riender Happee,et al.  The influence of muscle activity on head-neck response during impact , 1997 .

[24]  Guy Chappuis,et al.  Number and cost of claims linked to minor cervical trauma in Europe: results from the comparative study by CEA, AREDOC and CEREDOC , 2008, European Spine Journal.

[25]  Edwin van Hassel,et al.  Development of a Multi-Body Human Model that Predicts Active and Passive Human Behaviour , 2012 .

[26]  F. Richmond,et al.  Morphometry of Human Neck Muscles , 1998, Spine.

[27]  Jorge Ambrósio,et al.  Multibody Dynamics of Biomechanical Models for Human Motion via Optimization , 2007 .

[28]  Riender Happee,et al.  Active muscle response using feedback control of a finite element human arm model , 2012, Computer methods in biomechanics and biomedical engineering.

[29]  Joel D. Stitzel,et al.  Development of the global human body models consortium mid-sized male full body model , 2011 .

[30]  Manohar M. Panjabi,et al.  Biofidelic whole cervical spine model with muscle force replication for whiplash simulation , 2005, European Spine Journal.

[31]  J. B. Wheeler,et al.  Cervical muscle response during whiplash: evidence of a lengthening muscle contraction. , 2000, Clinical biomechanics.

[32]  Manohar M. Panjabi,et al.  Cervical intervertebral disc injury during simulated frontal impact , 2005, European Spine Journal.

[33]  Marc R. Safran,et al.  Biomechanical comparison of stimulated and nonstimulated skeletal muscle pulled to failure , 1987, The American journal of sports medicine.

[34]  M. Panjabi,et al.  Facet Joint Kinematics and Injury Mechanisms During Simulated Whiplash , 2004, Spine.

[35]  K. Brolin,et al.  The Effect of Muscle Activation on Neck Response , 2005, Traffic injury prevention.

[36]  de Mkj Marko Jager,et al.  A Global and a Detailed Mathematical Model for Head-Neck Dynamics , 1996 .

[37]  Karin Brolin,et al.  The importance of muscle tension on the outcome of impacts with a major vertical component , 2008 .

[38]  D. Viano,et al.  Biodynamic Response of the Musculoskeletal System to Impact Acceleration , 1980 .

[39]  Mamede de Carvalho,et al.  Development of a Musculotendon Model Within the Framework of Multibody Systems Dynamics , 2016 .

[40]  R L Lieber,et al.  Muscle damage is not a function of muscle force but active muscle strain. , 1993, Journal of applied physiology.

[41]  H. J. Woltring,et al.  Omni-Directional Human Head-Neck Response , 1986 .

[42]  Linda J. Carroll,et al.  Course and Prognostic Factors for Neck Pain in Whiplash-Associated Disorders (WAD): Results of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000–2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders , 2008, Spine.