Journal of biomechanical engineering
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The viscoelastic behavior of tendons has been extensively studied in vitro. A noninvasive method by which to acquire mechanical data would be highly beneficial, as it could lead to the collection of viscoelastic data in vivo. Our lab has previously presented acoustoelasticity as an alternative ultrasound-based method of measuring tendon stress and strain by reporting a relationship between ultrasonic echo intensity (B mode ultrasound image brightness) and mechanical behavior of tendon under pseudoelastic in vitro conditions [Duenwald, S., Kobayashi, H., Frisch, K., Lakes, R., and Vanderby Jr, R., 2011, "Ultrasound Echo is Related to Stress and Strain in Tendon," J. ⋯ We also report that the patterns of the echo intensity changes do not directly mimic the patterns of viscoelastic load changes, but the intensity changed in a repeatable (and therefore predictable) fashion. Although mechanisms need further elucidation, viscoelastic behavior can be anticipated from echo intensity changes. This phenomenon could potentially lead to a more extensive characterization of in vivo tissue behavior.
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Unilateral below-knee amputees develop abnormal gait characteristics that include bilateral asymmetries and an elevated metabolic cost relative to non-amputees. In addition, long-term prosthesis use has been linked to an increased prevalence of joint pain and osteoarthritis in the intact leg knee. To improve amputee mobility, prosthetic feet that utilize elastic energy storage and return (ESAR) have been designed, which perform important biomechanical functions such as providing body support and forward propulsion. ⋯ The analyses showed that altering a nominal prosthetic foot stiffness distribution by stiffening the toe and mid-foot while making the ankle and heel less stiff improved ESAR foot performance by offloading the intact knee during early to mid-stance of the intact leg and reducing metabolic cost. The optimal design also provided moderate braking and body support during the first half of residual leg stance, while increasing the prosthesis contributions to forward propulsion and body support during the second half of residual leg stance. Future work will be directed at experimentally validating these results, which have important implications for future designs of prosthetic feet that could significantly improve amputee care.