ARUP; ISBN: 978-0-9562121-5-3 - CMBBE 2012 - Cardiff University

THREE DIMENSIONAL ELECTROMECHANICAL MODELING
OF MUSCLE ARCHITECTURE
Melika Mohammad khah 1 , Farhad Tabatabai Ghomsheh 2 , Mostafa Rostami 3
1. ABSTRACT
The aim of the research described in this paper is to develop a simplified
electromechanical modeling of muscle based on the cellular physiological concepts. The
simulation was performed utilizing MATLAB programming language. The proposed
muscle model predicts muscle forces and displacements, along with appropriate
constraints using finite element analysis. In order to connect this research with clinical
issues, the muscle ischemia was simulated. The changes that are obtained due to
ischemia are, increasing the deformations and muscle restricting due to simulation
propagation.
Keywords: Skeletal muscle, electromechanical modeling, Element, node, muscle
deformation, Electromechanical force, electrical stimulation.
2. INTRODUCTION
Two major constituents of mammals are the skeleton and the skeletal muscles. Skeletal
muscle accounts for at least 40 percent of the whole body mass in mammals [1]. The
primary task of skeletal muscles is to generate force and to move parts of the body.
Whereas the skeleton is a rigid framework, skeletal muscles deform in response to
contraction. The internal structure of skeletal muscles is determined by the arrangement
of contractile elements within a muscle. Muscle architecture is an important aspect of
muscle functioning [2]. Hence, geometry and material properties of muscle have great
influence on the force-length characteristic of muscle.
As it is said before, skeletal muscle controls body motion, and significant research have
been made to understand its biomechanical properties. Many muscle models can be
found in the literature since Hill [3] developed the first mathematical model. Some of
these models are phenomenological (Stalhand et al. [4]), whilst others take into account
the muscle microstructure (Huxley and Niedergerke, [5]; Tang et al., [6]). The primary
objective of both types of models is to describe the contraction of the whole muscle as
the motor for body segment motion.
Finite element method has been widely used to model skeletal muscles by various
1
Msc student - Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran,
m.mohammadkhah@aut.ac.ir
2
Assistant Professor - Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran,
rostami@aut.ac.ir
3
Associate Professor- Biomedical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran,
tabatabai@aut.ac.ir