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Predicting Skeletal Muscle Force from Motor‐Unit Activity using a 3D FE Model
Author(s) -
Saini Harnoor,
Altan Ekin,
Ramasamy Ellankavi,
Klotz Thomas,
Gizzi Leonardo,
Röhrle Oliver
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
pamm
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1617-7061
DOI - 10.1002/pamm.201800035
Subject(s) - skeletal muscle , finite element method , computer science , current (fluid) , motor unit , biological system , chemistry , anatomy , biology , engineering , structural engineering , electrical engineering
Homogenised finite‐element (FE) skeletal muscle models provide a good trade‐off between computational efficiency and physiological realism. This trade‐off is in part due to the lack of explicit modelling of muscle fibres (MFs). As a consequence, the organisation of MFs into motor‐unit territories (MUTs) is particularly challenging. The current paper presents a possible technique to adress this issue by assigning MUTs in a homogenised sense in terms of muscle volume to FE skeletal muscle models. This method allows control of inter‐MUT distance, the amount of intermingling between MUTs and the order of MUT assignment. It was found that both assigning smaller MUTs first and allowing a moderate amount of intermingling significantly influence MUT distributions. This technique allows a simplified and straight‐forward way to introduce MUTs into 3D FE skeletal muscle models.