This NYI award will fund research on the basic mechanisms of multisegmental movement, coordination and control. With the use of a 3-dimensional, 16 degree of freedom model that the investigator developed, studies of the gait of cerebral palsied children, methods to control balance and methods to predict movement patterns will be investigated. Also being investigated are methods of automating the measurement of musculoskeletal parameters through the use of MRI and the use of optimal control techniques to coordinate the computer-simulated models. The NYI Award also will help the investigator develop a new course on Microcomputer Applications in Bioengineering and author a new textbook on movement biomechanics.
