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Development and Validation of an Active Muscle Simplified Finite Element Human Body Model in a Standing Posture

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Abstract

Active muscles play an important role in postural stabilization, and muscle-induced joint stiffening can alter the kinematic response of the human body, particularly that of the lower extremities, under dynamic loading conditions. There are few full-body human body finite element models with active muscles in a standing posture. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop and validate the M50-PS+Active model, an average-male simplified human body model in a standing posture with active musculature. The M50-PS+Active model was developed by incorporating 116 skeletal muscles, as one-dimensional beam elements with a Hill-type material model and closed-loop Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controller muscle activation strategy, into the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) simplified pedestrian model M50-PS. The M50-PS+Active model was first validated in a gravity standing test, showing the effectiveness of the active muscles in maintaining a standing posture under gravitational loading. The knee kinematics of the model were compared against volunteer kinematics in unsuited and suited step-down tests from NASA’s active response gravity offload system (ARGOS) laboratory. The M50-PS+Active model showed good biofidelity with volunteer kinematics with an overall CORA score of 0.80, as compared to 0.64 (fair) in the passive M50-PS model. The M50-PS+Active model will serve as a useful tool to study the biomechanics of the human body in vehicle–pedestrian accidents, public transportation braking, and space missions piloted in a standing posture.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a NASA Human Research Program Student Augmentation Award to NASA Grant No. NNX16AP89G. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the GHBMC, NASA, or KBR. All simulations were run on the Distributed Environment for Academic Computing (DEAC) high-performance computing cluster at Wake Forest University using LS‐DYNA R.10.2.0 (ANSYS, Inc., Livermore, CA) with the support of Cody Stevens and Adam Carlson.

Author Contributions

ML, NJN, JTS, FSG, JDS, and AAW designed the study. KSD, BK, and KMY provided essential materials and technical advice. LQV and KD performed the volunteer experiments and analyzed test data. ML, KSD, and BK developed the model and carried out simulation tests. ML, KSD, LQV, KMY and AAW drafted the manuscript. ML created the figures and tables and statistically analyzed the data. ML, BK, KSD, FSG, JDS, and AAW interpreted the results. All authors provided intellectual content to the manuscript. All authors have read and revised the manuscript and approved the final submitted version.

Conflict of interest

Dr. Stitzel and Dr. Gayzik are members and Dr. Weaver is a consultant of Elemance, LLC, which provides academic and commercial licenses for the GHBMC-owned human body computer models.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, 575 N. Patterson Ave, Suite 530, Winston-Salem, NC, 27101, USA

    Mitesh Lalwala, Karan S. Devane, Bharath Koya, F. Scott Gayzik, Joel D. Stitzel & Ashley A. Weaver

  2. Virginia Tech-Wake Forest Center for Injury Biomechanics, 575 N. Patterson Ave, Suite 530, Winston-Salem, NC, 27101, USA

    Mitesh Lalwala, Karan S. Devane, Bharath Koya, F. Scott Gayzik, Joel D. Stitzel & Ashley A. Weaver

  3. Aegis Aerospace Inc., 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX, 77058, USA

    Linh Q. Vu

  4. GeoControl Systems, 3003 S Loop W #100, Houston, TX, 77054, USA

    Kevin Dolick

  5. KBR, 2400 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX, 77058, USA

    Keegan M. Yates & Nathaniel J. Newby

  6. NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Parkway, Houston, TX, 77058, USA

    Jeffrey T. Somers

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  1. Mitesh Lalwala
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Correspondence to Ashley A. Weaver.

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Associate Editor Stefan M. Duma oversaw the review of this article.

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Lalwala, M., Devane, K.S., Koya, B. et al. Development and Validation of an Active Muscle Simplified Finite Element Human Body Model in a Standing Posture. Ann Biomed Eng 51, 632–641 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-022-03077-x

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