ASSIGNMENT #3

Name: O’Neil Leitch

USI: 1024833
Lecturer: Vishal Persaud
Course Name: Research Method
Course #: EMN 3202

The impact of Mechanical Engineering in the area of Biomechanics and the health sector.
On the 9th Feb 2007, my cousin was working with an Electrical company in the mining town of
linden when an electrical pole fell on him, causing him to be paralyze from his waist down. One
of the most devastating things that can happen to someone is being disabled, however in today
society, technology has revolutionize making life for a disabled person much easier. In last few
decades we have been confronted with increasingly complicated health care challenges and more
thrilling opportunities to save lives, reduce charges and enhance care through modern
technology. Mechanical Engineering plays a major role in counteracting the increasingly
complicated health care challenges and to make life much easier for disabled persons and other
health related issues. Before we can dive into the exciting part on the impact of Mechanical
Engineering in the area of Biomechanics and the health sector, we must first understand what a
mechanical engineer does. While in my early child hood days, I was told by one of my friends
that “A mechanical Engineer is a person who only fixes cars”. However, as I got older, I was
more inclined as to what a mechanical Engineer does. A Mechanical Engineer examine issues
and create mechanical gadgets to solve them. Continually advancing, Mechanical Engineer will
work on design and redesign, develop prototypes, work on tests results, and follow the
manufacturing process. (Mertly, 2020)

In Human, biomechanics frequently alludes to the investigation of how the skeletal and
musculature frameworks work under various conditions. In biomechanics, researchers frequently
try to apply science and Mathematics based types of investigation to find the abilities of
biological systems. As it were, biomechanics has been around since the inquisitive old Greek and
Roman personalities started dismembering creatures and vivisecting people to see the inside of
our bodies. A considerable lot of the extraordinary scholars and researchers of our past took a
stab at some type of biomechanics, from Aristotle, who composed a book On the Motion of
Animals in the fourth century BC, to Leonardo da Vinci, who examine human muscle and how
the joint operate in fifteenth century Italy. In the nineteenth century, scores of Europeans were
extraordinarily entranced, for reasons unknown, with the step of horses and widely examined the
biomechanics of a horse running movement. Presently, instead of being an area in which
philosophers and scientists’ fiddle in, biomechanics is their own branch of human and biological
science, with entire departments in universities and hospitals devoted to studying the subject.
Due to the efforts of experts such as the Emeritus faculty Albert Kobayashi and Colin Daly and
alumni Wayne Quinton and Savio Woo, Mechanical engineering has a rich history of
developments in biomechanics and health technologies. As a sub-field of ME, biomechanics is
very different. Specialists work in territories running from ergonomics, human variables
structure, cell mechanics, cardiovascular liquid elements and human-machine connection to the
improvement of clinical gadgets, electronic wearables and athletic gear. Biomechanics with the
combination of Mechanical engineering principles have significantly altered the health care.
(Mertly, 2020)

Applications of Mechanical Engineering principles and Biomechanics in health sectors

Musculoskeletal issues, such as severe trauma, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis, are one of the
world's leading causes of disability and are also a vital public health unit. Biomechanics with the
combination of Mechanical Engineering has proved to play a vital role in diagnosis, treatment
and regeneration of the musculoskeletal system. Biomechanical elements could impact cell's
metabolic action, bone redesigning, and sequelae improvement. Progression in biomechanical
hypothesis, approach, and method could likewise advance the enhancement for the structure of
defensive, careful, and restoration gear. Progression in Mechanical principles even advanced the
improvement of computational biomechanics. The focus on revolutionary biomechanics theory
and practice to understand musculoskeletal pathology and to develop the diagnosis and recovery
techniques. (Beji, 2020)

Biomechanics & Mechanical Engineering principles of Peripheral Joints

Biomechanics of organisms can be studied at different levels: cellular level (e.g., cell response to
external exerted force or deformation), tissue level (e.g., anterior cruciate ligament strain during
regular gait) and whole-joint level (e.g., joint contact forces during everyday living activities).
The principles of Mechanical & Engineering Biomechanics are used to comprehend the origin
and development of many rheumatic diseases. (Rosesl, 2020)

Biomechanics & Mechanical Engineering principles of Traumatic Brain Injury

The mechanical event is almost always known to be a single event, rather than a sequence of
cyclical charges added to organ / tissue / cellular preparations. Cyclic loading of tissue / cellular
elements in other areas of biomechanics is important in the concept of homeostatic response and
adapting to this response during illness. These involve occasional distension during the
cardiovascular process of the vascular wall, or repeated loading and unloading of orthopedic soft
tissues throughout gait. By comparison, the hippocampus and spinal cord are deemed
"mechanically covered" organs and do not have a specific mechanical stimulation level that is
constant. Traumatic loading is possibly the most rapid phenomenon studied in biomechanics, the
nature of the event – the acceleration / deceleration event in a blunt impact event is usually
transmitted in less than 50 millisec, whereas the mechanical charge in a blast event only lasts a
few millisec. (Rosesl, 2020)

Biomechanics & Mechanical Engineering principles of Upper Limb Orthoses

Biomechanics in the human body is the application of forces and their effects of applying forces
on the biologic system in the human body. These may include internal or external forces in the
upper limb. Knowing and recognizing the spectrum of forces present in the upper limb will
enable the medical-care team build the planned design and course of treatment appropriately.
Properly constructed orthoses should take into account the internal forces of the limb segments
being handled and the application of external forces to be applied to the limbs as required by the
patient's everyday living activities. (Rosesl, 2020)

Biomechanics & Mechanical Engineering principles of The Wheelchair

Biomechanics for wheelchairs involves learning how a wheelchair user provides the wheels with
strength to attain mobility. Since a wheelchair can coast, power input doesn't need to be constant,
but each power strike should be accompanied by a recovery time, with the stroking rate
dependent on user needs and wheelchair coasting capabilities. The latter is defined with respect
to the rolling resistance, air resistance and surface slope. The power needed to drive the
wheelchair must be balanced by the user's power output. The propulsion efficiency is the ratio of
this output power to the metabolic expense, and is usually in normal usage at 5 percent. The
functions needed in a wheelchair depend on user functionality and planned activities. In terms of
performance capabilities, each part is considered including rolling resistance, flexibility, weight,
convenience, stability, maneuverability, transfer, storage, durability and upkeep. A great part of
the work on biomechanics for wheelchairs has been about propulsion capacity, or in other words,
a measure of the effort needed to do a certain amount of work. In comparison to walking or
running, the amount of effort needed to move a wheelchair is readily determined and depends on
wheelchair rolling resistance, the impact of stairs, side inclines and air resistance. The work
required to move a wheelchair is controlled by four factors: the surface it rolls over, the slope,
the wind, and the wheelchair's rolling resistance. Tires are by far the most important element in
assessing the rolling resistance on flat land. The cumulative work required for wheelchair
propelling is the sum of the rolling resistance, the wind effect and the slope. Based on tires and
alignment the rolling resistance can be as low as 6 newtons (N) or as high as 40 N on a stable flat
surface. A wheelchair would need a force of 12 N to withstand a head wind of 20 kmph, with a
drag coefficient considerably worse than a flat plate. Increasing the velocity would make the
drag power four times greater. The biggest force to be tackled is that on ramps and slopes,
gravitational effect. With a wheelchair and user weighing 100 kg, the force needed to install a 1
in 12 gradient ramps is 100/12 kg, or 100/12 x gN = 82N, where g = gravity acc. Additionally,
the total force needed to push up the ramp must overcome rolling resistance, assume
approximately 6 N and wind resistance 12 N. Therefore: Total force = (82 + 6 + 12) N = 100 N.
The power needed to produce this force relies on velocity. At 1 m / s this would be 100W. A
regular user with a maximum output of 30 W would be reduced to 1 X 30/100 or 0.3 m/s (1
kmph). (Ralph, 2020)

Conclusion

Progress in Mechanical Engineering and biomechanics shows a great deal of promise in the
emerging areas of assistive technology, assisted therapy and rehabilitation. Despite their different
purposes and tools, Mechanical Engineers and biomechanical engineers have to co-operate to
achieve their common goals. This cooperation can help significantly in accelerating the
development of the health sectors.

References

1. Beji, H., 2020. Journalwebsite. [online] Hindawi. Available at:

<https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jhe/2017/8916431/> [Accessed 18 April 2020].
2. Max, B., 2020. Biomechanics And The Wheelchair | O&P Virtual Library. [online]
Oandplibrary.org. Available at: <http://www.oandplibrary.org/poi/1991_01_024.asp>
[Accessed 18 April 2020].
3. Mertly, G., 2020. Biomec. [online] Study.com. Available at:
<https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-biomechanics-definition-applications.html>
[Accessed 18 April 2020].
4. Ralph, C., 2020. Wheelchair Development. [online] Research Gate. Available at:
<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228384633_Wheelchair_Development_from_t
he_Perspective_of_Physical_Therapists_and_Biomedical_Engineers> [Accessed 18
April 2020].
5. Rosesl, D., 2020. Biomechanics - An Overview | Sciencedirect Topics. [online]
Sciencedirect.com. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-
and-microbiology/biomechanics> [Accessed 18 April 2020].