BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of an ultrasound-based method of examining extensor muscle architecture, especially the parameters important for force development. This paper presents the combination of two non-invasive methods for studying the extensor muscle architecture using ultrasound simultaneously with finger extension force measurements. METHODS M. exte...

In this study, the force-length characteristics of the in vivo medial (GM) and lateral (GL) heads of the human gastrocnemius muscle were estimated from measurements in eight healthy male subjects. This involved: 1) dynamometry-based measurements of the moment generated during maximal isometric plantar flexion; 2) ultrasound-based measurements of fascicular length and pennation angle; and 3) ult...

Fascicle length, pennation angle, and tendon elongation of the human tibialis anterior were measured in vivo by ultrasonography. Subjects (n = 9) were requested to develop isometric dorsiflexion torque gradually up to maximal at the ankle joint angle of 20 degrees plantarflexion from the anatomic position. Fascicle length shortened from 90 +/- 7 to 76 +/- 7 (SE) mm, pennation angle increased fr...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the behavior of human muscle fascicles during dynamic contractions. Eight subjects performed maximal isometric dorsiflexion contractions at six ankle joint angles and maximal isokinetic concentric and eccentric contractions at five angular velocities. Tibialis anterior muscle architecture was measured in vivo by use of B-mode ultrasonography. Duri...

Abstract B-mode ultrasound (US) is often used to noninvasively measure skeletal muscle architecture, which contains human intent information. Extracted features from images can help improve closed-loop human–robotic interaction control when using rehabilitation/assistive devices. The traditional manual approach inferring the structural US laborious, time-consuming, and subjective among differen...

1. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify experimentally in vivo changes in pennation angle, fibre length and muscle thickness in the triceps surae complex in man in response to changes in ankle position and isometric plantarflexion moment and (2) compare changes in the above muscle architectural characteristics occurring in the transition from rest to a given isometric plantarflexio...

Biomechanical properties of calf muscles and Achilles tendon may be altered considerably in children with cerebral palsy (CP), contributing to childhood disability. It is unclear how muscle fascicles and tendon respond to rehabilitation and contribute to improvement of ankle-joint properties. Biomechanical properties of the calf muscle fascicles of both gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and soleus (S...