ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN BODY
- The AnyBody Modeling System is revolutionary software
for computer analysis of the working human body
What if...
What if the office chair designer knew how to support
What if you knew the forces in your shoulder muscles
maintain seated posture? Perhaps office workers would
the body to minimize the muscle force necessary to
as a function of your posture while you work with a
computer? Perhaps you would be able to configure
increase their productivity and reduce their fatigue?
your workplace to avoid shoulder and neck fatigue?
What if the bicycle designer knew how the crank posi-
What if the orthopaedic surgeon knew the loads on a
the distribution of work between the leg muscles while
hip prosthesis as a function of its angle with the knee
axis? Perhaps he would be able to maximize the lifetime of the implant?
tion, pedal arm length, and upper body posture affect
pedaling? Perhaps you could design a bicycle that
would postpone fatigue when riding uphill or against
the wind?
What if indeed!
Ver. 12, May 2008
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599
The Vision
you are sitting in a chair, or how
the door handle design influences
“AnyBody computes the
the joint forces in your wrist? Even
influence of the envi-
very simple physical properties of
ronment on the human
the working human body remain
body: The joint forces
unknown. Until now...
when using a particular
tool. The metabolism
during a bicycle ride.
The force in the soleus
Are you sitting comfortably? Per-
muscle when jumping.
haps you are reading this at your
The load on an ortho-
desk, perhaps in your living room,
paedic implant.”
or perhaps while commuting on a
train?
Regardless
of
where
you
• What is the influence of antetor-
are,
sion angle on loading of a hip pros-
chances are that man-made ob-
thesis?
jects surround you: the seats in
• How can you design a pedaling
your car, the chair you are sitting
mechanism for use by paraplegics
in, your table, the keyboard on
through functional electric stimula-
your computer, the doors, the floor,
tion?
the windows...
The
AnyBody
Modeling
System
• How is a car seat designed for
How many of the objects you see
computes the influence of the en-
maximum driving comfort?
do not have some sort of interac-
vironment on the human body: The
• How does upper body posture
tion with the human body?
joint forces when using a particular
influence muscle activation on a
tool. The metabolism during a bi-
racing bicycle?
You can find out how heat is con-
cycle ride. The force in the soleus
muscle when jumping. The load on
• Can you design ski poles that
ducted from the room to the environment. How the sound waves
an orthopaedic implant; the infor-
your feet generate when they hit
mation on which truly ergonomic
the floor are transferred as vibra-
design is based.
enhance efficiency in cross country
skiing?
tions through the structure, or how
a computer screen emits electromagnetic radiation. Is it not strange
that there is almost no property of
technical products that you cannot
measure or analyze, but nobody
knows the load on your spine while
“How many of the
objects you see do not
The implications are virtually in-
have some sort of inter-
finite. Current investigations con-
action with the human
ducted with AnyBody include;
body?”
Ver. 12, May 2008
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599
The AnyBody Modeling System™
The AnyBody Modeling System™ (AMS) is a software
and other items in our environment decide the working
system for modeling the mechanics of the human body.
conditions of the human body. In short ergonomics.
It computes forces in individual muscles, joint forces,
The AnyBody Modeling System™ models not just the
metabolism, elastic energy in tendons, antagonistic
body, but also the objects it interfaces to; the seat and
muscle actions, and many other useful properties of
the crank mechanism of a bicycle, the backrest and
the working human body. And most important of all, it
foot support of a chair, the steering wheel and gearshift
can handle models with hundreds of muscles on ordi-
of a car. With The AMS, you can investigate in detail the
nary personal computers. This ability alone makes the
ergonomic consequences of design parameters.
system unique.
How does the table
height
AnyScript™
elbow forces when
working
In the AMS, you
construct
models
a
How does the pedal arm length in-
language
fluence the meta-
AnyScript™. Mod-
bolic efficiency in
els consist of segments
with
computer mouse?
in the body modeling
influence
bicycling?
(bones),
which are considered rigid, joints
Scaling
between the segments, and mus-
Models
cle-tendon
AnyBody
units
in
the
Model-
with physiological
ing System™ are
properties.
parametric.
ers
create
movement,
Drivthe
easy
and
to
It
is
change
the strength of a
you can add external forces to the model. The system
muscle, the length of a segment, or the direction of an
computes the variation of individual muscle and joint
exterior force. But the AMS does more than that. The
forces through the movement. From that information,
system can optimize the model and automatically find
properties such as tendon elastic energy, metabolism,
the combination of parameters that best fulfill a given
muscle activation, and antagonistic muscle actions are
purpose; the dimensions of a bicycle that minimize
derived by the system.
muscle fatigue for given rider dimensions.
So, how much will a planned joint replacement be loaded? What are the forces in the quadriceps tendon during bicycling? How does the wrist angle affect tendon
forces in the hand during typing on a keyboard? These
and many other questions can be answered using the
AnyBody Modeling System™.
Inverse-inverse dynamics
In the AnyBody Modeling System™ analysis begins
with the movement. What happens if the movement
is unknown? How can you simulate a dinosaur jump?
The AMS employs a technique called inverse-inverse
dynamics. In short, it means that the movement is
Ergonomic design
parametric and can be determined by the optimiza-
The human body functions in conjunction with its environ-
jump optimally given their body design, then you can
ment. The design of tools, furniture, bicycles, workplaces,
replicate the movement in the AMS.
Ver. 12, May 2008
tion capability of the system. If dinosaurs knew how to
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599
AnyBody-to-Automotive
Egress
Door Closing
Getting in and out of vehicles is be-
Elderly
experience
Cornering causes centrifugal forces,
coming an increasingly important
difficulty in closing car doors due
which the body must withstand with
design issue for the automotive in-
to shortcomings in body strenght
the aid of supports offered by the
dustry with the general ageing of
and flexibility, and suboptimal po-
package environment. In the case
the population.
sitioning of the door handle. This
of F1 race drivers, this centrifugal
increases loads in elbow and shoul-
acceleration can exceed 4g.
people
often
Steering/Cornering
der joints.
In order to minimize these loads
without discarding the existing door
This example investigates how the
design, it is possible to analyze the
Without proper support, this loads
ergonomic benefits of e.g. lowering
the muscles in the upper body and
the mass of the door.
the neck to the limit, and signifi-
placement of a handle high or low
on the window frame influences the
necessary muscular effort to exit
the vehicle. The analysis shows
that a high position of the handle is
preferable, but it also shows that as
long as the handle is above a certain height, there is little to gain.
cantly reduces the ability to control
Pedal design
Part of the package design of an
the vehicle.
automobile is the pedal system.
Pre-Crash
Since the pedal system is designed
Future automotive safety systems
with force feedback, this may cause
will include capabilities to respond
fatigue or lack of control to the
to occupant behavior prior to im-
driver.
pact.
Having this freedom of placement
The optimum passive safety system
can be important in the design of
response to an occupant tensing up
a product as highly optimized as a
prior to the impact will be different
modern car.
from the one needed for a fully relaxed, because muscle forces will
influence the net acceleration experienced.
References
Together with the leg, the pedal
AnyBody Technology has worked
forms a complex mechanical sys-
with
tem, which must be simulated and
Aachen and TECOSIM
analyzed for redesigning the pedal
Simulation GmbH in Germany, and
system to a higher ergonomic stan-
with Honda R&D Center in Japan.
Ford
Forschungszentrum
Technische
dard.
Ver. 12, May 2008
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599
Orthopedics: Modeling for life
Playing a part...
Trauma implants
At AnyBody Technology we believe
Orthopedic
we have something important to
cause dramatic changes in the way
offer. Possessing expert knowledge
a human body compensates for
on biomechanics and solid compe-
limitations in movement.
trauma
surgery
can
Modeling hip prosthesis
tencies in software development,
we play a small, but innovative
The implanting of internal/external
part in the global orthopedic value
fixation devices, screws and plates
chain.
can be modeled in aiming for optimum placement and design.
AnyBody Technology provides biomechanical
modeling
software
Modeling lumbar spinal fixation
and consultancy to the orthopedic
Rehabilitation
industry with the purpose of optimizing the quality of orthopedic de-
Modeling wheelchair design
signs - which directly translates to
Most wheelchair users experience
improving life for patients.
load-induced shoulder pain after
several years’ use. It can be a very
Modeling for life
serious condition for an individual
Whether developing for the most
relying entirely on the arms for
critical trauma devices, implants,
ambulation. The wheelchair pa-
or for long-term rehabilitation, the
quality of orthopedic designs will be
Above is a model example illustrat-
judged by the patients every minute
ing a lumbar spinal fixation with the
of their post-operative lives.
purpose of calculating shear and
compression forces in the adjacent
rameters such as wheel diameter,
pushrim position, axle position, and
camber influence the shoulder forces during use. But precisely how?
Implementing an alien object into
vertebrae during weight bearing
With computer simulation you get
a body changes the mechanics
and various spinal movements.
the best way to gain knowledge
in
unpredictable
ways.
Hence,
attention should be payed to altered
loads in the bones, joints and
muscles of the patients. The quality
of the patients’ post-operative lives
depends upon it.
With the AnyBody Modeling System,
you can assess the impact a spinal
fixation device, a hip prosthesis or
simply the daily use of a wheelchair
will have on the human body, in
terms of forces in muscles and
joints.
about the influence of the wheel-
Prosthetics
The
AnyBody
chair design on body loads.
Modeling
System
opens for preliminary modeling and
analysis of prostheses design.
When designing for any kind of
prosthesis,
research
questions
about the patients’ post-operative
condition in terms of muscle activities, joint reactions or abduction
strenght could be answered using
the software.
Below is a model example of a hip
bone prosthesis. Investigating joint
Ver. 11, February 2008
forces and muscle activitities in the
Model example illustrating
post-operative hip can reveal un-
wheelchair design’s effect on
suited prosthesis designs.
shoulder muscle forces.
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599
AnyBody in microgravity
Microgravity
conditions
are
the
most serious threat to the health
the human muscles and bones.
to design exercises that can be
AnyBody simulates the individual
performed under microgravity con-
of astronauts on
ditions
and
which
extended
space
mimic
the
forces
missions. The hu-
these
man
loses
sustain under grav-
muscle mass and
ity conditions. While
bone minerals at
astronaut exercises
an alarming rate
today
in space, and it is
designed
simply not possible
ply external forces
to perform space
similar to gravity, a
travel
better solution may
body
to
planets
solution
other
unless
to
a
structures
are
mostly
to
ap-
be much more inge-
this
nious.
problem is found.
force in each muscle end applies
The penguin suit
Unfortunately microgravity condi-
these forces to the bones. This
tions are impossible to recreate for
creates reliable estimates of joint
more than a very short time with-
forces completing the entire picture
The Russian space program has
out going to space. The only other
of the loading of each muscle and
created the so-called penguin suit.
option is to use numerical simula-
each bone in daily living situations.
It was in use from 1978 and was
equipped with elastic bands against
tion, and the AnyBody Modeling
System™ is the perfect tool for the
purpose.
An AnyBody model is a full-blown
implementation of the mechanics of the human body including
Design of exercises
which the wearer must work when
moving. Is it possible to create a
suit that by means of simple elas-
Knowledge of the forces on mus-
tic elements loads the human body
cles and bones makes it possible
with similar forces as gravity? AnyBody can answer the question.
body forces. Therefore, creating
microgravity is merely a matter of
changing the gravity setting in the
High gravity
model.
Space travel is not just low gravity
Muscle and joint
forces
conditions. The acceleration necessary to obtain escape velocity and
the deceleration of re-entry causes
loads on the human body that can
The human body is perpetually op-
be amplified by the mass of hel-
timizing itself. Without gravity, the
mets, space suits and other wear-
body rapidly removes the structures
able equipment.
that were created to withstand it:
muscle tissue and the structural in-
With the AnyBody Modeling Sys-
tegrity of the bones. The first step
tem™ you can compute exactly
towards solving the microgravity
how this equipment influences the
problem is therefore to understand
human body.
precisely which loads it causes on
Ver. 12, May 2008
AnyBody Technology A/S • Niels Jernes Vej 10 • DK-9220 Aalborg East • Denmark
www.anybodytech.com • [email protected] •Tel +45 9635 4286 • Fax +45 9635 4599