Optimal Control BCN

Workshop on Predictive Simulations of Human Movement

26th-27th Sept 2024, Barcelona, Spain

A two-day summit of talks and tutorials

Block 1

Brief theory seminars on optimal control problems in biomechanics

Block 2

Seminars and tutorials

Block 3

Work on your own project with the assistance of experts

Schedule

The theoretical sessions on Thursday morning will take place in the auditorium (main entrance hall).

Seminars 1 to 5 are optional and will be held in the multipurpose room next to the auditorium. You can choose to attend these seminars or work on your own project with the assistance of experts in room 0.02 (ground floor, same as the auditorium). The closing session will be at the auditorium.

The goals of this workshop are:

To give an introduction to physics-based prediction of human (and animal) movement, providing background on the optimal control framework and numerical methods (direct collocation, algorithmic differentiation, multi-objective optimization);
To provide an overview of the PredSim code, an open-source code building on OpenSim for predictive simulations of movement;
To share advanced applications of predictive simulations through seminars and tutorials (optional);
To provide expert guidance and discussion for your own project development.

We encourage both current users of predictive simulations as well as researchers considering to start using them to apply for this workshop.

Organizers

Míriam Febrer

Míriam Febrer is an assistant professor at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. She is leading the musculoskeletal simulations group within the BIOMEC Lab. Her main research interest is to deepen in the underlying principles of human motion, to support clinical decisions with the aim of improving life in subjects with mobility impairments. She contributed in developing an optimal control problem formulation for crutch-assisted walking prediction. She is currently working on modelling impaired motor control in children with cerebral palsy, with the aim of improving the design of ankle-foot orthoses.

Gil Serrancolí

Gil Serrancolí is associate professor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. He is coordinating the Simulation and Movement Analysis Lab. His main interests are in developing more efficient musculoskeletal simulations, enhancing their capabilities and improving computational speed. He contributed in developing a smooth foot-ground contact model and in speeding musculoskeletal simulations with the use of automatic differentiation. Currently, he is focused on developing a mesh-based contact pressure model to incorporate joint pressures within the decision criteria to predict movements.

Friedl De Groote

Friedl De Groote is an associate professor at the Department of Movement Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium. Her research goal is to gain more insight into how the musculoskeletal system and central nervous system interact during movement and to use these insights to design interventions that improve gait and balance in neurological disorders. Her unique approach is to combine computer simulations with experimental observations. Key to this approach is the development of computer methods to simulate human movement and to create personalized neuro-musculoskeletal models.

Speakers and supporting team

Alessio Artoni

Alessio Artoni is an Associate Professor of Applied Mechanics at the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, Università di Pisa, Italy. His research interests span simulation-based multi-objective/robust design optimization, numerical optimal control for (bio)robotics, optimal design of gear drives for power transmission, and biomechanics.

Dhruv Gupta

Dhruv Gupta is a computational biomechanist and current Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions post-doctoral fellow. His work focuses on advancing our mechanistic understanding of how joint hyper-resistance contributes to gait and balance disorders in children with cerebral palsy.

Jente Willaert

Jente is currently working as a post-doc in the lab of prof De Groote. During her PhD she investigated the effect of joint hyper-resistance on reactive balance in CP. Now she focuses on the altered sensory information and its contribution to altered motor control in CP.

Tim J. van der Zee

Tim is a post-doctoral fellow at KU Leuven in the lab of prof Friedl De Groote, working on developing mechanistic "cross-bridge" models of skeletal muscle mechanics and energetics. He aims to apply insights into muscle force production at the cellular level to predict how skeletal muscle drives whole-body movements.

Tom J.W. Buurke

Tom Buurke is an assistant professor at the Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands and a research fellow for Research Foundation Flanders at KU Leuven in Belgium. Tom’s research line is focused on the neuromechanics of human walking, with the aim to improve walking function in people with central neurological disorders.

M. Janneke Schwaner

Janneke is a comparative biomechanist and current Marie Skłodowska Curie post-doctoral fellow, working with Prof Friedl de Groote. Janneke’s general interest lies at the intersection of muscle physiology, experimental biology, and neuromechanics. Her research aims to better understand underlying mechanisms to agile locomotion, by combining experimental- and musculoskeletal modeling approaches.

Lars D’Hondt

Lars D’Hondt is a PhD student at KU Leuven, working with Prof. De Groote. He is interested in the neuromechanics of locomotion and their interaction with assistive devices. His PhD project includes using predictive simulations to study walking with ankle-foot orthoses and developing simulations to study walking balance. Lars is one of the developers of the PredSim code.

Bram Van Den Bosch

Bram is a PhD student at the lab of prof. De Groote. In his research he uses predictive simulations of gait to predict surgery outcome in children with Cerebral Palsy.

Wouter Muijres

Wouter is a neuro-mechanist and an FWO PhD fellowship holder working with Prof. De Groote. He is interested in mechanical and control principles that govern balance in locomotion. The goal of his work is to improve locomotor performance in populations with balance deficits such as older adults and transtibial amputees.

Ellis Van Can

Ellis Van Can is a PhD student at KU Leuven in the group of Prof. De Groote. Ellis' research focuses on fall mechanisms of older adults and modeling of neuro-musculoskeletal impairments in children with CP.

Mohanad Harba

Mohanad is a PhD candidate at the Simulation and Movement Analysis Lab at UPC. His research focuses on integrating a smooth knee contact pressure model, aimed at developing more effective treatments and preventative measures for knee-related disorders.