DeVaughn G Rucker, Sheridan Lee, Michael Y Qiu, Yuxuan Huang, Juan Becerra-García, Hanxun Jin, Charles B Suskin, Michelle Connor, Sophia Pyeatte, Joshua W Osbun, Mohamed A Zayed, Guy M Genin
{"title":"Multiscale Architecture Governs Stability in Suction-Actuated Variable Stiffness Catheters.","authors":"DeVaughn G Rucker, Sheridan Lee, Michael Y Qiu, Yuxuan Huang, Juan Becerra-García, Hanxun Jin, Charles B Suskin, Michelle Connor, Sophia Pyeatte, Joshua W Osbun, Mohamed A Zayed, Guy M Genin","doi":"10.1115/1.4071866","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071866","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Endovascular procedures require devices with widely varying mechanical properties: flexibility for navigating tortuous vessels, and rigidity for stable therapeutic delivery. Suction-actuated variable stiffness sheaths attempt to address this challenge by incorporating axial wire string arrays that couple mechanically under suction to increase flexural rigidity. However, prototype devices achieve stiffening ratios well below theoretical predictions, suggesting that string array positioning and interlayer mechanics require investigation. We therefore investigated whether interweaving expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape within the string array can enhance flexural rigidity modulation and improve bending uniformity along the catheter length. Prototypes with varying PTFE wrap configurations were fabricated and evaluated using three complementary approaches. First, flexural testing revealed that flexural rigidity in the actuated and unactuated states was largely unaffected by wrapping for small deformations. Second, curvature stability testing revealed that deformation through acute simulated vascular bends was higher than expected due to two failure mechanisms: slip, in which string arrays migrate after overcoming wrap-imposed friction, and buckling, in which arrays become locally pinned and deflect against the outer lumen. Finally, a mathematical model characterized stability limits as functions of the wrapping architecture and device mechanical properties, revealing criteria for which device performance improved. Results suggest design principles for intracatheter wrapping that can narrow the gap between theoretical and achieved flexural rigidity ratios, potentially contributing to the development of endovascular devices capable of single-sheath navigation and intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13482193/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147846299","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial.","authors":"Thao Vicky Nguyen, Richard E Debski","doi":"10.1115/1.4072075","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4072075","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148145531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rebecca F Reals, Ryan M Castile, Evan M Bradley, Arun K Movva, Alice Hu, Carson L Hoopes, Alexander J Gadin, Necat Havlioglu, Aaron M Chamberlain, Benjamin M Zmistowski, Spencer P Lake
{"title":"Anti-Inflammatory Treatment and Active Physical Therapy Have Differing Effects on Functional, Mechanical, and Histological Properties in a Rat Model of Post-Traumatic Elbow Contracture.","authors":"Rebecca F Reals, Ryan M Castile, Evan M Bradley, Arun K Movva, Alice Hu, Carson L Hoopes, Alexander J Gadin, Necat Havlioglu, Aaron M Chamberlain, Benjamin M Zmistowski, Spencer P Lake","doi":"10.1115/1.4071004","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Post-traumatic joint contracture (PTJC) frequently occurs in the elbow after injury, decreasing range of motion (ROM) and causing dysfunction. Physical therapy improves ROM but does not address underlying inflammation and fibrosis. Combining physical exercise with biological treatment has shown positive results in other physiological systems. Objective: evaluate whether active physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drug treatment, alone or in combination, could preserve mechanics and function in a rat model of PTJC. Elbow PTJC was surgically induced in rats followed by joint immobilization (IM). Animals received either anti-inflammatory drug (celecoxib or CEL) treatment, active physical therapy (wheel activity or WA), or both (CELWA). An untreated cage activity (CA) group served as control. Functional evaluation, joint mechanical testing, and histological analysis were used to compare groups. All treatments improved gait parameters compared to CA, with WA showing the most improvements. WA also showed improved forelimb strength ratio compared to CA, but this difference was not significant. Postmortem joint mechanics were slightly improved in WA and CEL and most improved in CELWA compared to CA. Histological analysis showed that all treatments improved fibrosis, adhesions, vascularity, and thickness of capsule tissue to varying degrees. Cartilage surfaces showed improved structure and cellularity for all treatments. PTJC involves multiple tissues and cell types, and thus a multitreatment approach will likely be needed to address all underlying causes: biological modulation of the inflammatory response combined with physical disruption of fibrotic tissue may show more efficacy than either treatment alone.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13242644/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146107784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lily R Watkins, Kiley A Irwin, Hadi Wiputra, Rochus K Voeller, Victor H Barocas
{"title":"Feasibility of Zero-Dimensional-Model-Based Pulse Waveform Analysis as a Tool to Detect Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Growth.","authors":"Lily R Watkins, Kiley A Irwin, Hadi Wiputra, Rochus K Voeller, Victor H Barocas","doi":"10.1115/1.4071061","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (ATAA) only have a 10-20% chance of survival upon aneurysm rupture. If aneurysm growth is detected, however, surgical repair can mitigate the rupture risk. Current computed tomography (CT)- and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based surveillance methods require frequent hospital visits, increasing healthcare costs and reducing patient adherence. Pulse-based measurements, which could eventually be performed at home, are an attractive but poorly explored alternative. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using frequency analysis of the pulse waveform to determine whether the ATAA radius or wall stiffness has changed. We first determined a correction to the standard zero-dimensional (0D) model for blood flow through curved vessels, using fluid-structure-interaction (FSI) modeling as ground truth. We then studied idealized ATAA geometries and found that changes in the size of an aneurysm led to consistent changes in the Fast Fourier Transform of the outlet pressure waveform. Furthermore, when the vessel stiffened and grew, these changes were detectable by comparing the low versus high frequency response of the outlet pressure. Similar trends were observed for FSI simulations based on retrospective study of longitudinal scans of a patient over 5 years. This study showed that analyzing the pulse waveform, as clinically measurable by surface tonometry, has potential to form the basis for an at-home method for detecting ATAA growth.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13313117/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146133686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tanner L Cabaniss, Geoffrey Colby, Yingtao Liu, Hyowon Lee, Bradley N Bohnstedt, Chung-Hao Lee
{"title":"In-Vitro Evaluations of Shape Memory Polymer Scaffolds With Tunable Architecture for the Endovascular Embolization of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms.","authors":"Tanner L Cabaniss, Geoffrey Colby, Yingtao Liu, Hyowon Lee, Bradley N Bohnstedt, Chung-Hao Lee","doi":"10.1115/1.4071060","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071060","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Translationally relevant metrics for shape memory polymer (SMP) scaffolds intended for the endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms were evaluated in various in vitro experiments. Multiple SMP formulations were first evaluated for glass transition properties, with saturated scaffolds demonstrating Tg midpoints of 39 °C, 35 °C, and 32 °C, respectively. Then, the scaffold's porosity (85-95%) and infill pattern (rectilinear, honeycomb, gyroid) were varied, and these designs were systematically compared by compressibility, shape recovery (SR), and pulsatile compaction resistance. The compressibility of ideal and wide-necked aneurysm geometries, each in 6 mm and 8 mm diameter sizes, indicated an upper limit of ∼9 mm in treatable aneurysm diameter for a 5 French catheter. Under physiologically relevant pulsatile loading, all scaffold designs resisted notable compaction, with maximum deformation values not exceeding 55 μm. The shape recovery forces were primarily governed by the porosity level, with low- and medium-porosity scaffolds showing complete and reliable shape recovery, and high-porosity scaffolds exhibiting reduced completeness of shape recovery. Shape recovery rates varied both within and across infill pattern and porosity groups. Together, these findings provide quantitative benchmarks for the translational viability of our SMP scaffold in different key stages of device deployment and establish design guidelines for further optimization of patient-specific endovascular devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12890180/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146133693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin, Noelia Grande Gutiérrez
{"title":"Student Paper Competition of the 2025 ASME SB3C Summer Bioengineering Conference.","authors":"Mary Kathryn Sewell-Loftin, Noelia Grande Gutiérrez","doi":"10.1115/1.4072076","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4072076","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148145469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
N A Jaseem Sajidh, Ponnusamy Pandithevan, Roger J Narayan
{"title":"Mechanistic Model to Predict Forces in Bone End Milling: An Experimental Study Intended for Bone Grafting Surgery.","authors":"N A Jaseem Sajidh, Ponnusamy Pandithevan, Roger J Narayan","doi":"10.1115/1.4071216","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In orthopedic surgery, subtractive manufacturing processes, such as drilling, sawing, grinding, and milling, are employed for implant placement, fracture fixation, and reconstruction surgery. If the forces resulting from the bone cutting processes are uncontrolled, mechanical damage (e.g., microcracks and bone fragmentations) is observed in the local host bone. In this study, the use of the end milling process for harvesting bone grafts was investigated. Importantly, the mechanistic model for the prediction of bone end milling forces was developed, considering the axial, tangential, and radial force components, geometry of the end milling cutter, and mechanical properties of the bone. First, an analytical description of the milling forces resulting from the end milling process was developed. Second, the cutting and edge force coefficients were calculated. Third, the axial, tangential, and radial forces resulting from the end mill cutter were predicted from the mechanistic model. To validate the end milling forces predicted from the mechanistic model, different sets of experiments were conducted. It was verified that the forces predicted from the mechanistic model agreed well with the validation experiments. The outcomes of this study can be used to pre-estimate the forces resulting from the end milling cutter, and therefore, mechanical damage can be avoided.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147291789","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Parameter Identification for a Four-Compartment Controller Muscle Fatigue Model.","authors":"Baivab Bhandari, Ritwik Rakshit, James Yang","doi":"10.1115/1.4071456","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Localized muscle fatigue arises from interacting central and peripheral mechanisms whose contributions vary with contraction intensity and joint velocity. The four-compartment controller with enhanced recovery (4CCr) model captures these processes but its practical use is limited by parameter identifiability and sensitivity to optimization settings. This study systematically evaluates the robustness of 4CCr parameters across joints, velocities, optimization algorithms, and sample-size subsets. Residual capacity (RC) is extracted from peak isometric torque across five isometric-isokinetic cycles in 32 participants, and the three unknown 4CCr parameters-baseline peripheral fatigue (FPi0), baseline peripheral recovery (RPi0), and velocity coefficient (ki)-are estimated using genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO). Comprehensive GA hyperparameter sweeps and PSO validation reveal strong equifinality in (RPi0, ki) and unexpectedly high stability in FPi0 across subjects, velocities, and solvers. Sample-size analyses (N = 10, 14, 18) further confirm that FPi0 converges rapidly with increasing dataset, whereas RPi0 and ki fluctuate substantially across datasets and therefore do not yield consistent physiological interpretations. The recovery analysis indicates that the 4CCr model reflects realistic two-phase recovery, unlike the three-compartment controller with enhanced recovery (3CCr) model which recovers rapidly. These findings demonstrate that peripheral fatigue rate is the only well-constrained parameter in the 4CCr muscle fatigue model, and that fixing FPi0 enables more reliable optimization of the remaining parameters. This work clarifies parameter identifiability within the 4CCr model and supports the development of a more stable, generalizable fatigue model for digital human simulations and velocity-dependent strength prediction.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147488573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Megan N Spencer, Ross E Smith, Shyam Patel, Howard Kashefsky, Kota Z Takahashi, Jason R Franz
{"title":"The Effects of Walking Speed on Three-Dimensional Foot Rigidity and Multisegment Coordination.","authors":"Megan N Spencer, Ross E Smith, Shyam Patel, Howard Kashefsky, Kota Z Takahashi, Jason R Franz","doi":"10.1115/1.4071213","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071213","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The foot's role in movement varies dramatically across stance, absorbing shock upon heel strike, storing strain energy during midstance, and generating power during push-off. These functions are made possible by the coordinated interaction between passive and active neuromuscular structures spanning the foot and ankle. However, how coordination patterns of multisegment foot kinematics fluctuate with changes in walking speed remains unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantify three-dimensional foot joint rigidity and multisegment coordination and variability at two walking speeds. We hypothesized that faster walking speeds would elicit decreased rigidity and more tightly regulated coordination. Sixteen adults (six males, ten females; age: 26.9±5.2 yr) completed 2 min barefoot walking trials on an instrumented treadmill at two speeds (1.0 m/s and 1.4 m/s). We used a multisegment foot model to define the ankle, arch, and toe joints to assess multisegment foot rigidity (i.e., range of motion (RoM)) and segmental coordination and variability between the rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot across early, middle, and late stance phases. Supporting our hypothesis, faster walking reduced joint rigidity and resulted in more tightly regulated coordination, characterized by more synchronized (i.e., greater in-phase or lesser antiphase) movement and decreased variability across most planes. As a notable departure, only the midfoot-forefoot showed greater antiphase movement during late stance, indicating less tightly regulated coordination, which may allow for greater extension at faster walking to facilitate mechanical energy return. These findings provide a foundation for understanding changes in foot and ankle function due to age and/or injury, surgical intervention, or disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13313116/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147291751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimal Powered Ankle-Foot Prosthesis Torque Profiles to Improve Walking Performance for Individuals With a Unilateral Transtibial Amputation.","authors":"Eric H Hu, Glenn K Klute, Richard R Neptune","doi":"10.1115/1.4071411","DOIUrl":"10.1115/1.4071411","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Prosthetic ankle-foot devices provide valuable assistance for individuals with a unilateral transtibial amputation (TTA) to effectively engage in daily living activities, although users often experience diminished walking performance such as increased metabolic cost, knee joint loading, and dynamic balance asymmetry due to the lack of torque control from commonly prescribed passive devices. Consequently, active powered prosthetic devices have been developed; however, it is unclear how to optimally tune them. The purpose of this study was to identify the optimal ankle torque profile of a powered ankle-foot prosthesis that improves walking performance for individuals with TTA. Specifically, we used a musculoskeletal simulation-based optimization framework to optimize a powered prosthesis torque profile while emulating group averaged kinematics and ground reaction forces (GRFs). We compared the metabolic cost, knee joint loading, sagittal plane dynamic balance symmetry, and torque profiles across the following simulated conditions: a passive prosthesis tracking individuals with TTA walking data, a powered prosthesis tracking able-bodied walking data, and a powered prosthesis that separately minimized metabolic cost, knee joint loading, and dynamic balance asymmetry. Distinct torque profiles emerged for each measure, but there was no clear trend in the positive prosthetic work performed, which suggests increased prosthetic work alone is insufficient to improve walking performance. Further analysis showed the prosthetic torque must be properly timed over the gait cycle to improve each measure. This study provides a framework for future work developing customized controllers for powered prostheses to improve various aspects of walking performance for individuals with TTA.</p>","PeriodicalId":54871,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biomechanical Engineering-Transactions of the Asme","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147500554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}