At Valparaiso University, current research being performed in the Human Movement Research Laboratory falls under three main projects: the analysis of gait while wearing different running shoes, the design and control of prosthetic devices, and the development of statistical metrics that will be used to indicate when an athlete is on the verge of an injury. These three studies are supported by state of the art equipment that allows them to track people in motion using motion-capture cameras, to record muscle activity using electromyogram (EMG) sensors, and to study impact loads using in-sole pressure maps. These research projects have helped to consistently send undergraduate students to conferences such as the annual American Society of Biomechanics (ASB) Conference, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Summer Bioengineering Conference (SBC), and the World Congress of Biomechanics in 2014.
The addition of the Xsens MTw Awinda will allow us to take our data acquisition trials outside of the laboratory to the baseball diamond, basketball court, or football field. Such flexibility not only allows us to observe athletes in their natural environment, but it will also provide our students with additional educational experiences that cannot be reproduced in the classroom or in a laboratory. We will mainly be using this new system to collect additional data pertaining to joint mechanics for our sports injury study along with muscle activity recorded from a wireless EMG system. Everyone involved in biomechanics research at Valparaiso University is extremely excited to start using this new system and expanding the scope of what we can accomplish with our projects"
Craig M. Goehler, PhD, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Human Movement Research Laboratory of the Valparaiso University.
