Health Sciences – Page 3 – UROP Summer Symposium 2021

Health Sciences

The Effect of Prosthetic Leg Length on Low Back Muscle Activity and Pain during Walking and Sit-to-Stand

People with lower limb amputation have a greater incidence of low back pain than the general population, with some estimates as high as 65%. One potential cause of pain in this population is leg length asymmetry as it can lead to altered trunk-pelvis movement, and subsequently altered low-back loading. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of changes in prosthetic leg length on low back muscle activity and self-reported low-back pain.

Analyzing Readability of COVID-19 Biomedical Literature

Reading scientific literature such as preprints and papers is different from reading ordinary English novels. The average American reads at the 7th- to 8th-grade level, according to the Literacy Project [1]. The COVID-19 pandemic is unique in a way that not only scientists but also the general public actively seek for scientific information that would help to understand the new viral infection and fight its spread. The COVID-19 related literature has been read by the public, government officials, and people who had no prior biomedical education but it is questionable how much was understood. The goal of this project is to understand how readable the COVID-19 biomedical articles are and whether they could be easily understood by an average American.

MATLAB Programming for Data Packaging

Research is being conducted within the University of Michigan Direct Brain Interface (UM-DBI) Laboratory to develop an option for people with physical impairments to access communication devices without physical movement through brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Currently, the majority of the BCI data from the laboratory is stored in a BCI2000 file format which is raw data and cannot be edited or modified after it is obtained. The MATLAB Programming for Data Packaging Project focuses on improving the data storing and editing process for a custom Data Packaging Graphical User Interface (GUI) within MATLAB.

Development of automated photogrammetry system for measuring biological tissue geometry in situ

In determining engineering stress, a shape’s cross section is estimated and then the stress is calculated from there. For engineering materials, a general idea of the stress a part undergoes is usually all that is needed. However, when calculating stress on biological tissues, such as mouse tendons, it is more difficult due to the irregular shape, size, and precision needed. My research has been to develop a photogrammetry set up that automatically acquires pictures from multiple angles and in conjunction with a secondary software, calculates the cross sectional area of mouse tendon (or other object) in order to improve the accuracy of data for research.

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