A biomechanical model of lower extremity for seated operators

착좌시 하지 동작의 생체역학적 모델

A two-dimensional static biochemical model of lower extremity in the seated posture was developed to assess muscular activities of lower extremity required for a variety of foot pedal operations. We found that the double linear optimization method that has been used for modelling articulated body segments does no predict the forces generated by biarticular muscles reasonably, so the revised double linear optimization scheme was used to consider the synergistic effects of biarticular muscles in our model, assuming that the muscle forces are distributed proportionally based on their physiological cross sectional area. The model incorporated three rigid body se- gments with six muscles to represnet lower extremity. For the model validation, three male subjects performed the experiments in which EMG activities of six lower extremity muscles were measured. Predicted muscle forces were compare with the corresponding EMG amplitudes and it showed no statistical difference. The model being developed can be used to design and assess pedal and foot-related tool design.