Improving the pre-hospital care of polytrauma patients

For some time now, we have been working together with the team of Prof. Dr. Martin Kieninger from the Department of Anesthesia at the Universitätsklinikum Regensburg on a project to improve the pre-hospital care of polytrauma patients. The project is investigating how the various immobilization options, in particular cervical support, affect the cervical spine. In the first part of the project, our inertial motion capture system from Movella was used to investigate different techniques for repositioning patients on the stretcher of the ambulance.
The corresponding paper was recently published at PLOS One:
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292300

Based on the results, a further study evaluated the movements of the cervical spine during loading of the patient into the ambulance and during transportation on the vacuum mattress with and without cervical support. The aim is to find out whether a cervical support can be dispensed with when transporting polytrauma patients if immobilization is provided by a vacuum mattress.
The studies were conducted in close cooperation with Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V. and Malteser in Deutschland.

RCAI Christmas Symposium

The Labor für Biomechanik is also becoming increasingly involved with the topic of AI. For us this field of research is playing an important role, particularly in the areas of prevention, rehabilitation processes and feedback systems.
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to pitch our approaches and thoughts on artificial intelligence at the RCAI Christmas Symposium. In addition to well-known industry players from the greater Regensburg area, it was also exciting to see what experience our neighboring and partner laboratories have already gained in this field.
A very successful evening with thanks to all the organizers

Dr. Simon Auer

We are very proud of Simon Auer who successfully defended his PhD.
After 5 years of research at the Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg he presented his thesis entitled: Musculoskeletal models in highly dynamic motion: effects of model parameters and mentalstress.
A doctoral committee consisting of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Dendorfer (supervisor), Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. univ. habil. Günther Maderbacher, Prof. Dr. med. Markus Weber and Prof. Luděk Hynčík Ph.D. rated his thesis as magna cum laude. This completes Simon's work for his doctorate in Human Sciences at the Medical Faculty of the University of Regensburg.
Well done and congratulations Simon!

Markerless motion capture at Caritas Hospital St. Josef

Last week, we had the opportunity to use our 3D MotionCapture setup for the first time to measure patient movement in a clinical setting. The mobile markerless camera setup and the minimal preparation of the subjects allowed us to record 62 test subjects during their waiting times within 4 days without interfering with everyday hospital routine. The feedback from patients and staff was consistently positive.
We recorded everyday movements and clinical mobility tests. This was an initial pilot measurement on the way to permanently integrating such systems into everyday clinical practice in the future. The aim is to integrate automated MotionAnalysis directly into the diagnostic process. In addition, patients and staff were sensitised to the topics of osteoporosis and fall prevention as part of an information week in collaboration with the Caritas-Krankenhaus St. Josef and the HSD Hochschule Döpfer

Paper on shoulder prostheses published

Nikolas Förstls work on designing a temporary shoulder implant for measuring shoulder stiffness has been accepted for publication in the journal of Medical Engineering & Physics. The work adresses the clinical problem of adjusting the pre-tension of the shoulder muscles when a shoulder prosthesis is implanted. We developed a temoprary device which allows for measuring the stiffness. This could be the basis for more reliable and functional treatment. The co authors in the study were Franz Süß, Carsten Englert and Sebastian Dendorfer. The paper can be read here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350453323001145 

New research project on Pelvic Floor Disorders

We have started a new research project on the prevention of Pelvic Floor Disorders. Pelvic Floor Disorder are widly used problem for may women and men, resulting in a severe reduction of quality of life.

Together with our partners from the University of West Bohemia Plzen and Charles University Praha we have successfully applied for a research grant in the programm Interreg Bayern-Tschechien 2021-2027. The total project budget is close to 1 Mio €.

Our aim is to investigate the biomechanics of Pelvic Floor and to develop prevention schemes which will be dissemeninated in the project region. Also through an integration of partners in the region we want to make a difference for patients. This is an exciting project for us as it combine basic research with a hopefully direct impact on people.

 

Paper in Sensors accepted

Lukas Reinkers work on sensors placement for reliable acceleration data has been accepted for publication in Sensors.

The titel of the paper is: Correlation of acceleration curves in gravitational direction for different body segments during high-impact jumping exercises.

It shows that many body locations at trunk and arms can be used for the analyses of accelerations acting at the body. We will use this info to develop prevention schemes for Osteoporosis.

Co Author to the study were Dominic Bläsing and Sabina Ulbricht, our partners from University Greifswald and Rudolf Bierl and Sebastian Dendorfer.

Dr. Maximilian Melzner

Maximilian Melzner sucessfully defended his PhD thesis on the 19th of January. His work on hand and elbow modeling and musculoskeletal simulations has been rated summa cum laude. The thesis has been reviewed by Prof. Christian Pfeiffer and Prof. DirkJan Veeger. PD Carsten Englert has been part of the examination committee and Prof. Sebastian Dendorfer was the supervisor of the research.

Congratulation! If you are interested have a look at the papers section on this page.