CREB - Biomechanics laboratory
GINYS-IRSJD-004
Located in CREB spaces, 4th floor of the Barcelona School of Industrial Engineering – ETSEIB
The Biomechanical Engineering Research Group (BIOMEC) conducts research and development of technology for the assistance and rehabilitation of human movement. The main activity of BIOMEC is the application in the clinic to improve the rehabilitation of patients with neuromuscular disorders. From the basic research of the group arose in 2018 the spin-off of the UPC ABLE Human Motion, which develops an exoskeleton of lower extremity for spinal cord injuries, devised in the group together with the universities of A Coruña and Extremadura. The group has a Biomechanics Laboratory as well as a Mechatronics Workshop for the development and prototyping of mobility assistance systems.
Services
- Kinematic and dynamic analysis of general human movement (upper extremity and lower extremity).
- Instrumented analysis of normal gait and pathological gait (on the floor and on tape).
- Study of the footprint at the level of plantar forces and pressures.
- Analysis of the forces of contact with the ground in normal march and march with crutches.
- Analysis of muscle activity by superficial electromyography (EMG).
- Comparison of movement monitoring systems for rehabilitation with the “gold-standard” (cameras and markers).
- Development of pilot clinical studies on rehabilitation therapies and technologies.
- Computational study of movement using neuro-musculoskeletal models of the human body and simulation techniques.
- Application of the above techniques to the fields of sports and ergonomics (in addition to the clinical field).
Equipment
- NaturalPoint OptiTrack motion capture system with 18 Flex V100: R2 infrared cameras and passive reflective markers. Through this system, human movement can be accurately measured.
- Two AMTI Accugait power plates. Using this equipment the ground-to-ground contact forces during the movement can be measured.
- 16-channel Biometrics SX230 surface electromyography (EMG) system. This system is used to measure the electrical activity associated with muscle contraction.
- Tekscan F-Scan and F-Socket contact pressure measurement systems. The former is used to measure contact plantar pressure, and the latter to measure pressure in prosthetic devices.
- Instrumented crosses of own manufacture. Using this system, cross-ground contact forces can be measured during crutch-assisted walking.
- NORDICTRACK T11.5 treadmill. This system has been used to analyze gait assisted by robotic exoskeletons for spinal cord injury or stroke.
- The most relevant technologies developed in this Laboratory have been the following: ABLE Exoskeleton, MOVit Wheelchair and ArmTracker Monitoring System (https://biomec.upc.edu/projects/).
Staff
Manel González | manel.gonzalez@upc.edu
