A Framework for Structured Modeling of Skeletal Muscle

Abstract

The aim of this study is to present a detailed continuum mechanics formulation, and the corresponding algorithms, to predict the deformation of skeletal muscle at different structural levels, starting from the muscle fiber level. The model is used to investigate force production and structural changes during isometric and dynamic contractions of the cat medial gastrocnemius. From a comparison with experimental data obtained in our own laboratories, we conclude that the model faithfully predicts all of the observations pertaining to force production, fascicle length and angle of pennation under various test conditions.

Keywords:

• Soft tissue modeling
• Skeletal muscle architecture
• Physically-based graphical simulation
• Medial gastrocnemius

Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by CAPES-Brazil, UCS, and NSERC of Canada. Special thanks to M. Kaya, T. Leonard and G. Baranoski.