Biomechanics

Biomechanics explores the interactions between the various components of a biological system, including bones, muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, and other tissues. By analyzing these interactions, Biocore researchers and engineers gain insights into how organisms generate and control movement, as well as how external forces affect their bodies.

 

Sports

Biomechanics researchers at Biocore analyze movements and their effects on the human body to understand how different loads and circumstances lead to injury. By studying these movements, the researchers at Biocore are able to provide valuable insights to coaches, athletes, and trainers that can help them optimize their performance, improve their technique, and reduce the risk of injury.

In addition, the work of Biocore's biomechanics researchers has a significant impact on the design and development of sports or other protective equipment. With a better understanding of how the human body responds to different loads and movements, our researchers help equipment manufacturers develop new protective equipment that is better suited to the needs of athletes and reduces the risk of injury.

Areas of Focus

  • Injury
  • Protective Equipment
  • Playing Surfaces
  • Athlete Scanning
  • 3D Kinematics
  • Technique Analysis
Biomechanics in Sports
 

Forensic Analysis

Our biomechanical engineering experts model complex injury scenarios and validate injury claims. We analyze the forces and motions involved in an injury to determine whether it was caused by an accident or by negligence, and to determine the mechanisms and severity of the injury, as well as the extent of the damage caused. Our experts also help determine the admissibility of scientific evidence challenged under Frye, Daubert, and other standards.

Automotive Crash Injuries

  • Restraint-induced injuries and restraint effectiveness
  • Restraint use
  • Occupant kinematics
  • Pedestrian injury biomechanics
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Thoracic injury
  • Abdominal injury
  • Injuries of the hip, thigh, knee, leg, ankle, and foot

Other Injuries

  • Concussion
  • Spinal injuries
  • Injuries of the knee, ankle, and foot
  • Equipment performance and standards

Industry and Military

Biocore's injury and performance research is being applied to other industries such as delivery or warehouse environments and the military where the knowledge of how the human body moves and responds to different stimuli is essential. Biocore's research drives development of new techniques and tools for therapy that can improve the lives of workers and soldiers and help them recover more quickly from injuries.

Biomechanics in Industry
Engineer reviewing a test of system
 

Custom Test Development

Biocore offers a comprehensive suite of services aimed at helping organizations reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Our expertise lies in identifying and addressing potential risks to improve workplace safety and employee well-being. We specialize in working with organizations that require innovation and have unique needs when it comes to injury prevention. Our engineers have experience developing custom tests and manufacturing unique devices for a variety of industries, including military, automotive, and sports.

Equipment

Great investment has been made in our state-of-the-art facility and equipment to ensure that our team has the resources necessary to perform cutting-edge research with precision and accuracy.

Injury & Anthropomorphic Testing

  • Cadex Impactor with slider table for helmet testing
  • Biokinetics Impactor with slider table for helmet testing
  • Cadex Twin Wire Drop Tower, standard equipment for NOCSAE helmet testing with custom retrofit for shoulder pad testing.
  • Custom Dual Rail Drop Tower used for ad-hoc equipment testing including shoulder and thigh pads.
  • Custom Monorail Drop Tower used for helmet and ad-hoc equipment testing; contains a custom Helmet-to-Ground retrofit enabling pre-impact rotational motion.
  • Sports Field - 2300 sq-ft of dedicated sports surface (~1/2 standard basketball court), Act Global Gen 3 artificial turf
  • 48x camera Vicon Vantage® 1000 Hz motion capture system
  • 8x camera Vicon Vue® (‘video-over-Vicon’) system
  • 7x AMTI Optima® (600x600mm) force plates
  • DARI Motion full-body markerless motion capture
  • 2x XSENS MVN® full-body IMU suits
  • Vitronic Vitus3D® whole-body laser scanner
  • Catapult Clearsky® local positioning system 16 lead Delsys Trigno® EMG system
  • Novel LoadSol in-shoe load measure system
  • Biodex dynamometer
  • NFLview system – 38 of 5K JAI cameras & server
  • Full body and component anthropomorphic test dummies (ATDs)

Surface & Footwear Testing

  • Custom “Biocore Elite Athlete Shoe-Surface Tester” (BEAST) mobile & laboratory-based dynamic traction tester​
  • S2T2 – Shoe and Surface Traction Tester, a portable instrument for measuring the translational and rotational traction of sport shoes on any accessible surface.
  • Custom impact hammer adapted from the ASTM-F355 standard capable of collecting peak impact accelerations, rebound velocity, and energy restitution
  • DeLTec Advanced Artificial Athlete (“3A”) for shock absorption and vertical deformation. Compliant with standards CEN / TS 16717, FIFA 04a, FIFA 05a, FIFA 13, ASTM F3189
  • Exeter “FAST” Tester for testing shoe 1MTP flexural stiffness
  • Exeter FLEX II Tester for dynamically measuring longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS) of sport shoes
  • Customized Gester GT-KA01-2 Whole Shoe Forefoot Flex Tester with custom instrumentation to provide Torque-vs-Angle measures during wear & fatigue testing
  • CompITS - Computertized Impact Testing System for shock attenuation testing of shoes and material samples
  • DMT – Dynamic Motorized Torsion Tester for measuring torsional stiffness/flexibility

Computational Modeling Resources

  • Custom finite element (FE) lower extremity model (“FELEX”) for soft-tissue injury prediction
  • GHBMC Human body FE model (50th percentile Male) to understand the responses of whole-body given boundary and loading conditions
  • Custom FE model of American football helmets, cleat, and shoulder pad
  • OpenSim Musculoskeletal modeling capability to understand internal biomechanics parameters (joint forces | moments and muscle activation pattern)
  • LS-DYNA: Commercial Finite Element Modeling software
  • Hyperworks: Commercial pre & post processing software
  • High Performance Computing Cluster: a 144 core system with Dual Intel Xeon processors, and a suite of advanced software tools
Helmet Lab Helmet Lab Helmet Lab Helmet Lab Performance Lab Performance Lab
Running track
 

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Hours
Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, EST
Address
1627 Quail Run
Charlottesville, VA 22911
Telephone
+1 (434) 328-8624