"Musculoskeletal Function in Human Locomotion" by Marcus Pandy, PhD. 

Chair of Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne.

ABSTRACT: Gait-analysis techniques have been used for more than a century to provide information on the kinematics and kinetics of human locomotion, yet the ability of this approach to evaluate musculoskeletal function is limited because it cannot be used to discern the actions of individual muscles. Computational modelling is the only means available to determine musculoskeletal function non-invasively. Rapid increases in computing power combined with recent advances in medical imaging, more accurate methods for measuring muscle-tendon and joint motion dynamically, and more efficient algorithms for modelling the neuromusculoskeletal system have enabled more detailed analyses of musculoskeletal function. This presentation will illustrate how computational modelling in conjunction with musculoskeletal imaging and motion capture experiments has been used to evaluate lower-limb muscle, tendon, ligament, and joint function during normal and pathological gait.

BIO: Marcus Pandy is appointed as Chair of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He received a PhD in mechanical engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus. Prior to joining the University of Melbourne, he was appointed as the Joe J. King Professor in Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Pandy’s research is focused on combining biomechanical experiments, optimization theory, and computational modelling to describe and explain musculoskeletal function in the healthy, injured and diseased states.