Internal torques of human upper extremity during its optimal motion in vertical plane

Paper i proceeding, 1997

In the paper a number of optimal control problems for the motion of the human upper extremity (HUE), for different types of working tasks, are considered. The performance index used in these problems is the integral over the duration of the working task of the sum of the square of the controlling stimuli acting at the joints of the human arm. Under some conditions this performance index can be used for evaluation of the muscles' energy expenditure during human movements. The HUE is simulated by a plane multibody system of rigid masses. The system comprises the three elements with mass and rotatory inertia modelled the upper arm, the forearm and the hand. The controlled motions of the mechanical system are described in terms of joint angles and Cartesian coordinates of the shoulder joint, through the application of Lagrange's equations. The main aim of the study is an investigation of the interaction between the gravity forces and the internal torques acting at the joints during goal-directed extremal motions of the HUE. The analysis of the internal torques, energetic and viscoelastic characteristics of the shoulder, the elbow and the wrist joints for the exstremal controlled motions of the human arm under the external load acting on the hand has been done.