🌟 Another successful workshop on OpenSim at the QUT (Queensland University of Technology) ! 🌟 
 
The team had the privilege of attending an incredible workshop on OpenSim (https://lnkd.in/ekGVP2jK) yesterday, skillfully led by Dr. Taylor Dick (UQ), James Williamson (UQ) and Dr Maxence Lavaill (QUT) on 8th July, 2023. 
 
Dr. Dick’s expertise and passion for OpenSim were evident throughout the workshop. The technical teachings covered a wide range of topics, providing a comprehensive understanding of this powerful #simulation software. We delved into the intricacies of creating #musculoskeletal models, customizing simulations, and conducting #motion analysis. It was truly a hands-on experience that allowed the team to gain practical skills in using OpenSim effectively. 
 
One of the highlights of the workshop was learning about OpenSim’s capability to perform dynamic simulations and predict the movement of complex human systems. Dr. Taylor Dick skillfully guided us through the process of analyzing muscle forces and joint loads, enabling us to gain insights into the biomechanics of human movement. This knowledge has immense potential for optimizing athletic performance, designing rehabilitation programs, and even advancing the field of robotics. 
 
Another exciting aspect of the workshop was the opportunity to explore OpenSim’s integration with other software tools and technologies. We learned how to incorporate motion capture data, electromyography signals, and even neural control models into our simulations. This interdisciplinary approach opens up countless possibilities for research and innovation, fostering collaborations across diverse fields. 
 
The outcomes of this workshop were truly remarkable. By the end of the day, participants had not only acquired a solid foundation in OpenSim but also gained practical skills that they can immediately apply in their respective fields. The workshop fostered a sense of community, with attendees sharing ideas, insights, and potential avenues for future collaboration. 
 
Thank-you Dr. Taylor Dick and James Williamson for sharing your expertise and hosting this workshop. The event was a testament to the commitment of both institutions to advancing research and education in the field of biomechanics and simulation. We are excited to see the ripple effects of this workshop as participants go on to leverage OpenSim’s capabilities in their work and contribute to the growth of this field. 
 
Stay curious, keep learning, and let’s push the boundaries of biomechanics together! 💪💻🚀 

Dr Taylor Dick is a Senior Lecturer in The School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia and Group Leader of the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab. She was awarded her PhD in 2016 from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada). Her PhD research, in partnership with the Concord Field Station at Harvard University, focused on developing an experimental and modelling framework to predict in vivo motor function using advanced image-driven musculoskeletal models. Following this, she conducted a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at North Carolina State University. She has implemented innovative imaging approaches to discover how humans recover from unexpected perturbations during movement, which provided critical biological insight for the design of robotic devices capable of assisting movement in real-world environments.  

Mr James Williamson is a senior PhD student in the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Research Group (UQ) and a 2021 QDSA HDR grant alumni. The overall aim of his work is to explore the influence of passive ankle exoskeletons on the neuromechanics of movement in real-world conditions. James uses OpenSim as tool to investigate lower-limb kinematics and mechanical energetics during a variety of tasks with and without passive ankle exoskeleton assistance. 

In this workshop, we will showcase how you can use musculoskeletal models in combination with movement analysis data to address research questions broadly focused on human biomechanics. Through a combination of mini lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on examples, we will introduce workshop participants to the OpenSim environment; showcase how to navigate the OpenSim environment and how to get files ‘OpenSim-ready’.  

Participants can expect to gain hands-on experience in scaling generic musculoskeletal models to create subject-specific geometries, and in combining experimental data from 3D motion capture and reaction forces within inverse kinematics and inverse dynamics analysis frameworks. Although this is a beginner workshop, we will focus on emphasizing best practices, troubleshooting, and what’s happening “under the hood” as these are key ingredients to successful modelling and simulation of human movement.