Musa Audu, PhD
Research interests
Human musculoskeletal modeling, control of standing and seated balance, development of neuroprostheses for intervention after spinal cord injury and other movement disorders.
Dr. Audu is currently a Principal Investigator with the APT and Cleveland FES Centers as well as a 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. He also develops and solves large scale dynamic and static optimization problems that arise in the study of human locomotion. These include applications to the control of human bipedal standing and seated postures for individuals with spinal cord injury and other balance disorders. The models he develops help other researchers and clinicians to resolve issues and get insights about the workings of the intact human central nervous system.
Photo: From project "Seated Balance and Trunk Control with Implanted Neuroprostheses." Left picture shows a musculoskeletal model indicating the various forces that help to maintain balance in a forward leaning posture. The right picture shows an individual paralyzed by spinal cord injury reaching forward without arm support but with her trunk supported by appropriate stimulation of her otherwise paralyzed trunk and hip muscles. Our objectives for this translational research project are to expand the functionality of neuroprostheses for seated posture and balance by appropriately varying activation of the trunk and pelvis muscles with the intended task, automatically, without conscious effort by the user. Dr. Audu is a principal investigator on this project.
Watch this video to find out more about impact of seated posture control research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ZehZQCsoc&t=28s
Published work (Google Scholar): https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=mFLToaMAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&gmla=AJsN-F7R8fCD61aIa5Z6EVTg81wubyK61eaXA4NVgeQV5jfPiOvuVrKq0-lo_8oJMRTA_2X1NpRNKitTrrIrXla87KAuSVhExaav55ISOp49E3cM3chWv3ShTRSgX3bi4FvFLJsGp3WX
Other Link: https://engineering.case.edu/about/school-directory/musa-audu
