We are interested in understanding the mechanical behavior of individual muscles during coordinated joint motion. Currently, methods such as sEMG and ultrasound elastography can only be used to quantity individual muscle forces in a limited set of superficial muscles. In our research, we use magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) to obtain shear wave velocities from all muscles in the forearm with measurements of joint torque and angles to quantify forces of individual muscles during isometric actions. Our MR-compatible robotic device, the MRE-bot, allows us to safely measure wrist joint torques at different joint postures during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our work focuses on quantifying individual muscle forces in the forearm to evaluate their role in the control of wrist joint tasks. The work on this project is done in collaboration with the Mechanical Neuroimaging Lab.

Publications on this topic

D. R. Smith, C. A. Helm, A. Zonnino, M. D. J. McGarry, C. L. Johnson, F. Sergi, “Individual Muscle Force Estimation in the Human Forearm Using Multi-Muscle MR Elastography (MM-MRE)”, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, vol. 70, no. 11, pp. 3206-3215, Nov. 2023, pre-print, available online.

A. Zonnino, D. R. Smith, P. L. Delgorio, C. L. Johnson, F. Sergi, “MM-MRE: a new technique to quantify individual muscle forces during wrist isometric contractions using MR Elastography”, 16th International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, 2019, pre-print, available online.