Continuation of the OAIC/UM Pepper Center's Biomechanics Core is proposed. The Core will provide an array of techniques and equipment for the precise experimental quantification of physical functioning of healthy and frail elders. The Core will provide an array of computer simulation models to analyze the elements of those functional abilities and to establish the major determinants of abilities to perform motor acts in an effective manner. It will make available to Core users the experience of the staff of the Biomechanics Laboratory of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in investigating problems involving musculoskeletal biomechanics, thereby enhancing the quality of Core users' research. By serving as a central source for sophisticated instrumentation, the Core will promote cost- effectiveness in geriatric biomechanics research. Physical disabilities are epidemic in the elderly. Whatever the underlying pathologies, these disabilities express themselves in biomechanical terms; limited ranges and speeds of motion, reduced muscular strengths, inappropriate body segment coordination patterns and inability to maintain urinary continence, for example. The biomechanics Core will contribute to the development of academic leaders in geriatrics by training them formally to analyze a range of geriatric problems through biomechanical techniques, and by training them informally through their participation in research projects that examine issues of physical abilities of the elderly. The Biomechanics Core will enhance the quality of currently supported research, enable new research to get underway by supporting pilot investigations and young faculty, and encourage the establishment of new major research programs in geriatric biomechanics.
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