OpenSim Versus Human Body Model: A Comparison Study for the Lower Limbs During Gait

• Published in: Journal of applied biomechanics 2018-12, Vol.34 (6), p.1-502
• Main Authors: Falisse, Antoine, Van Rossom, Sam, Gijsbers, Johannes, Steenbrink, Frans, van Basten, Ben J H, Jonkers, Ilse, van den Bogert, Antonie J, De Groote, Friedl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Gait; Kinematics; Knee; Legs
• ISSN: 1065-8483; 1543-2688
• DOI: 10.1123/jab.2017-0156

Musculoskeletal modeling and simulations have become popular tools for analyzing human movements. However, end-users are often not aware of underlying modeling and computational assumptions. This study investigates how these assumptions affect biomechanical gait analysis outcomes performed with Human Body Model and the OpenSim gait2392 model. We compared joint kinematics, kinetics, and muscle forces resulting from processing data from seven healthy adults with both models. Although outcome variables had similar patterns, there were statistically significant differences in joint kinematics (maximal difference: 9.8 ± 1.5 degrees in sagittal plane hip rotation), kinetics (maximal difference: 0.36 ± 0.10 N·m/kg in sagittal plane hip moment), and muscle forces (maximal difference: 8.51 ± 1.80 N/kg for psoas). These differences might be explained by differences in hip and knee joint center locations up to 2.4 ± 0.5 and 1.9 ± 0.2 cm in the postero-anterior and infero-superior directions, respectively, and by the offset in pelvic reference frames of about 10 degrees around the medio-lateral axis. Model choice may not influence the conclusions in clinical settings where the focus is on interpreting deviations from reference data but will affect the conclusions of mechanical analyses where the goal is to obtain accurate estimates of kinematics and loading.