Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), is a very rare neuroimmunologic disorder characterized by progressive muscle pain, rigidity, stiffness, and spasms. It can be very debilitating if misdiagnosed or not recognized in time. Herein we discuss a case of a female in her 20s who presented with an unsteady gait, lower extremity weakness, persistent leg pain, and stiffness few weeks after uncomplicated child...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the longitudinal stiffness changes and associated prospective lower limb injury risk across a season of training in female athletes. Thirty-nine high level female athletes from varied training backgrounds completed sports-specific tasks and repetitive hopping. Repeated measures analysis of variance, independent t-tests, receiver operating characteristic...

This paper documents the mechanical system of the Electric Cable Differential leg, and its incorporation into a monopod hopping robot named Thumper and a bipedal robot named MABEL. The ECD Leg is designed with physical springs and other passive dynamics to match a mathematically simple, bio-inspired mass-spring model, which can exhibit robust and economic walking and running gaits. With this de...

Many robots excel at precise positioning and trajectory tracking using software control, and most successful robotic applications utilize this ability—examples include CNC machining, robotic welding, painting, and pick-and-place circuit board assembly. The mechanical design of these robots focuses on rigid transmissions and minimizing compliance in the structure, so the software controller can ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical spectrum of anti-GAD-positive patients with stiff-person syndrome (SPS) and provide reproducible means of assessing stiffness. BACKGROUND SPS can be difficult to diagnose. Delineation of the clinical spectrum in a well defined population will increase diagnostic sensitivity. METHODS In 20 anti-GAD-positive patients with SPS (six men, 14 women), screened am...

There is considerable inter-individual variability in self-selected intensity or running speed. Metabolic cost per distance has been recognized as a determinant of this personal choice. As biomechanical parameters have been connected to metabolic cost, and as different running patterns exist, we can question their possible determinant roles in self-selected speed. We examined the self-selected ...

There is considerable inter-individual variability in self-selected intensity or running speed. Metabolic cost per distance has been recognized as a determinant of this personal choice. As biomechanical parameters have been connected to metabolic cost, and as different running patterns exist, we can question their possible determinant roles in self-selected speed. We examined the selfselected s...

There is considerable inter-individual variability in self-selected intensity or running speed. Metabolic cost per distance has been recognized as a determinant of this personal choice. As biomechanical parameters have been connected to metabolic cost, and as different running patterns exist, we can question their possible determinant roles in self-selected speed. We examined the selfselected s...

This study investigated the electromechanical properties of atrophied human quadriceps femoris muscle during a voluntarily elicited maximal isometric contraction (MVC) and a peripherally stimulated twitch contraction. Nineteen patients were recruited 2-3 months following a unilateral anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Both the involved leg as well as the uninvolved leg were studie...