MEEG 483/683: Orthopaedic Biomechanics

Term Paper

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Assignment

Survey the literature on a specific topic in the field of orthopaedic biomechanics. Describe the current state-of-the-art and suggest areas that require further research. Then briefly describe how you might try to investigate the problem yourself.

Topic

Some possible areas from which a specific topic might be chosen include:

Prosthetics, orthotics, total joint replacement, bone remodeling, mechanical influences in a particular musculoskeletal disease (e.g. arthritis or osteoporosis), artificial ligaments, tendon transplants, constitutive properties of tissue, functional neuromuscular stimulation, joint biomechanics, spine biomechanics, biomechanics of oral implants, electromyography, muscle biomechanics, muscle sounds, muscle force models, sports biomechanics, motion analysis, motor control or neuromotor biomechanics.

Note: nearly all of these areas are too broad. A specific topic from within these fields must be chosen.

The manuscript should be technically well written and organized. It should be well referenced using primary journal articles (i.e., not text books). The following sources may be useful:

Journal of Biomechanics ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering Journal of Orthopaedic Research Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research

Journal of Applied Biomechanics Biological Cybernetics IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise

Format

The paper should be written in the following form, where sections A-C are a maximum of 12 double-spaced pages:

TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT (max 150 words)

A. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND (~1-2 pages)

Briefly describe what you will be presenting and why it is important. Relate concisely the anatomical, biological and clinical framework of your topic.

B. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS (~7 pages)

Present a literature review of previous research on this topic. Do not simply list in expanded form a number of references, but try to digest what has been done. This section should be in a form such that the current "state-of-the-art" is easily appreciated.

C. PROPOSED RESEARCH (~3-4 pages)

State what you think are the shortcomings in our current knowledge. Suggest areas that require further research.

From these topics, state concisely and specifically a particular research problem that you propose to address. In broad terms, describe how this might be done experimentally. Point out the difficulties that you may expect to encounter in this research.

State what you believe will be the significance of your proposed research.

REFERENCES

References and reference citations should conform to the style of the Journal of Biomechanics. At least ten references are expected.