Marcus Pandy

Research project description:
The goal of the project is to develop new methodologies for evaluating musculoskeletal health non-invasively in people.

Customised models of the lower-limb muscles, ligaments, bones, and joints built from computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging will be combined with in vivo measurements of skeletal motion obtained from dynamic imaging methods such as single-plane fluoroscopy. The patient-specific computer models of the body will be used to provide reliable estimates of muscle, ligament, and joint contact loading during dynamic activity. In vitro (cadaver) experiments will be performed to benchmark the accuracy of this modelling approach.

Leading-edge technologies in imaging and instrumentation will also be applied to quantitatively compare calculations of joint contact loading with telemetric measurements obtained in the same patient. The major outcome will be the creation of new intellectual property that combines computational modelling and in vivo experimentation for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders resulting from stroke, cerebral palsy, and degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis).

• Appointed Head of Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering on 1 January 2006
• Began his work in robotics but found human movement more interesting, and completed his doctorate in human walking
• More than three million Australians suffer from some form of joint disease according to the Arthritis Foundation of Australia, and this costs the nation about $2.2 billion a year