This Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant provides funding for the acquisition of mechanical testing equipment to support musculoskeletal research and engineering eduction. Measuring the mechanical properties of biological tissue, such as ligaments and bone, is important for understanding the function of these tissues. Characterization of mechanical properties is often performed using testing machines that apply a known force to tissue specimens and then record the resulting displacement. This project will purchase mechanical testing equipment capable of bi-axial loading and related motion instrumentation for use primarily in musculoskeletal and orthopaedic research.
Researchers at the University of Missouri Kansas City are addressing a broad spectrum of issues related to aging and musculoskeletal health including research in movement simulation, musculoskeletal biomechanics, biomaterials, bone response to mechanical loading, muscle fatigue and aging, bone repair and regeneration, and cell level function. The requested mechanical testing equipment will significantly enhance musculoskeletal research at the body, organ, and tissue levels. In addition, the instrumentation will be directly incorporated into five courses in mechanical and civil engineering. These courses reach a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students whose education would be enhanced through learning on state-of-the-art equipment. Located in the heart of Kansas City, the School of Computing and Engineering hosts hundreds of students per year from local urban Kansas City schools and laboratory demonstrations are an important component of these visits. The equipment will also serve the broader research and engineering communities of Kansas City. The University of Missouri Kansas City has the only engineering program in the Kansas City metro area, a community of over 2 million people.
Mechanical testers measure the force versus distance relationship of metals, plastics, and other substances. These measurements are used to quantify the mechanical properties of materials, such as stiffness. Mechanical testing equipment is also used to measure the properties of musculoskeletal tissue. For example, the stiffness of ligaments or cartilage can be quantified. The mechanical testing and motion capture equipment acquired through this National Science Foundation award was used to create the Mechanical Testing Lab at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. This lab supports various research projects in musculoskeletal health as well as supporting engineering education. Musculoskeletal research projects that have used this lab include investigations into the mechanical properties of skeletal muscle scaffolds for tissue engineering, investigations into the mechanical function of ligaments and structures of the elbow, measurements of bone strain, and comparisons of the activation and recoil forces generated by epinephrine autoinjectors and the their training devices. Future testing scheduled for the lab include a joint project with engineering and orthopaedics to measure mechanical properties of finger bones and fixation techniques and dynamic testing of soil properties for stormwater management. The Mechanical Testing Lab funded by the National Science Foundation delivers needed infrastructure for education and research at the University of Missouri – Kansas City as well as providing a resource for the greater Kansas City area.
