Jacob Brewer, “Analysis of Dynamic Muscle Length in Patients with Osteogenesis Impefecta”
Mentor: Jacob Rammer, Biomedical Engineering

Dynamic muscle length changes during activity to support clinical decision-making, especially in surgical planning. The purpose of this project is to assess muscle length changes in a population of children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI, brittle bone disease). The primary objective of this work is to model and characterize muscle behavior in children with OI, using OpenSim, an open-source musculoskeletal modeling approach. Over 30 subjects with OI were measured in a motion capture and will be compared to typically developing subjects with some similar demographics in age and sex. Results from the study will show muscle length changes compared to the resting length of the subject. Analysis will reveal changes in muscle length of key groups involved in gait and an overall evaluation of the population tested. It is expected to see differences in muscle length changes between the two groups of subjects. Projections for this research expect to improve in understanding classifications of OI and aid in treatment decisions.