Many types of calculations in biomechanics involve kinematics in some respect. The motion between two segments is the foundation for many calculations such as joint angles and joint moments. For this reason, it is essential to understand how coordinate systems are defined and how to tweak them to describe exactly what you are trying to measure.
As an introduction to more advanced calculations in Visual3D, we focus this video on the right-hand rule. In order to understand segment coordinate systems and how they contribute to joint rotation calculations, we need to make sure that the axis defitions are clear. The right-hand rule is an easy tool to use to help users navigate this complex topic.
The final segment to discuss is the head. Adding the head to the thorax model, we can define the cervical joint. In this tutorial, we show you how to create a useful landmark at the center of the head in order to create this segment. We also show you some best practices to customize the coordinate system and appearance of the model in Visual3D.
Having already defined the arms in chapter 2 and the thorax in chapter 3 of this unit, we can now cheat a bit to define the shoulder. In this tutorial, we show you how to append a model to another one by adding the arms to the thorax. We also discuss how to reason through small modifications that might be necessary when appending models.
The peculiarity of defining a thorax earned this segment it’s own chapter. Due to the technical definition of proximal and distal, picking targets or landmarks can get confusing. Also, the segment coordinate system will most likely need to be rotated to suit your needs. In this chapter, we focus not only on defining the thorax segment, but also on customizing its appearance in the 3D viewer.
The first joint we expand our modeling skills to include in Visual3D Basics is the elbow. Defining the upper arm is not quite a simple as any of the lower body segments. In this tutorial, we show you how to create landmarks in a variety of ways to have full control of each segment both in the static trial and the dynamic trials. We also employ some key concepts regarding joint coordinate systems.
Chapter 4: Joint rotationsThe most fundamental relationship between the motion of two segments is the the joint rotation. This motion […]
Visual3D BasicsUnit 6:How to set up advanced calculations Chapter 3: Coordinate systems Many types of calculations in biomechanics involve kinematics […]
Chapter 1: Right-hand ruleAs an introduction to more advanced calculations in Visual3D, we focus this video on the right-hand rule. […]
Chapter 5: Cervical joint definitionThe final segment to discuss is the head. Adding the head to the thorax model, we […]
