Advanced Platform Technology Center
VA APT Researcher Publishes Original Research in August Journal of Applied Biomechanics
Seated balance in SCI patients can be improved after spinal cord injury
Authored by Musa Audu, PhD, the published article is entitled, “Intrinsic and Extrinsic Contributions to Seated Balance in the Sagittal and Coronal Planes: Implications for Trunk Control after Spinal Cord Injury.”
The article details Dr. Audu’s research study, which tested passive and active properties of the human trunk in both able-bodied (ABD) and spinal-cord injured (SCI) volunteers. The objective was to uncover the main physiological mechanisms that mediate seated balance in ABD individuals and how these mechanisms were affected by spinal cord injury. Such information would be invaluable in designing rehabilitation devices to alleviate the effects of SCI in reducing the independence and community participation of the affected individuals. The results showed that spinal cord injury leads to a systematic reduction in the extrinsic characteristics, while most of the intrinsic characteristics were rarely affected.
Musa Audu, PhD, is a researcher with the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center of Excellence at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (LSCVAMC) and with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). The article was co-authored by Ron Triolo, PhD, the Executive Director of the APT Center, and published in the August 2015 issue of the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (JAB). This is the official journal of the International Society of Biomechanics.
“Able-bodied and spinal-cord-injured volunteers sat on a moving platform which underwent small amplitude perturbations in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions while changes to trunk orientation were measured,” says Dr. Audu. “In both SCI and ABD individuals, passive characteristics alone were not enough to maintain seated balance.”
In fact, passive stiffness in the ML direction was almost 3 times that in the AP direction, making more extrinsic mechanisms necessary for balance in the latter direction. Proportional and derivative terms of the extrinsic model made the largest contribution to the overall output from the active system, implying that a simple proportional plus derivative (PD) controller structure will suffice for restoring seated balance after spinal cord injury.
Dr. Musa Audu is currently a Principal Investigator with the APT and Cleveland FES Centers as well as a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. His research interest is in the area of musculoskeletal computer modeling and its applications to gait and other human movement activities. Dr. Triolo serves as the Executive Director of the APT Center and is primarily responsible for all aspects of its operation. He is a tenured Professor of Orthopaedics and Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.
The Journal of Applied Biomechanics is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of musculoskeletal or neuromuscular biomechanics in human movement, sport, and rehabilitation.
About the APT Center: The APT Center is one of 17 designated Centers of Excellence in the Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Established in 2005 as a collaboration between the LSCVAMC and CWRU, the APT Center focuses on applying the most recent advancements in microelectronics, material science, microfabrication, wireless communication and mechanical design to the pressing medical needs of disabled veterans, and translating them into viable clinical options. Investigators, project staff, and support specialists associated with the Center concentrate their professional effort on translational research in the areas of: Prosthetics and Orthotics, Health Monitoring and Maintenance, Neural Interfacing, and Emerging Enabling Technologies. Clinician-researchers associated with the Center include some of the “Best Doctors in America” as named by Cleveland Magazine and Best Doctors, Inc. as well as multiple recipients of prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the NIH Director’s Innovation Award, and VA Career or Senior Career Research Scientist Awards. APT Center related activities have resulted in more than 60 invention disclosures and 15 patented or patent-pending concepts and prototypes that will serve the clinical needs of veterans with sensory, motor and cognitive deficits or limb loss. For additional information about the APT Center, please follow the link: http://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov/
