Duration
26h Th, 26h Pr, 1d FW
Number of credits
| Master of Science (MSc) in Biomedical Engineering | 5 crédits | |||
| Master of Science (MSc) in Mechanical Engineering (EMSHIP+, Erasmus Mundus) | 5 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
English language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
Why does biomechanics matter?
To answer this question, let's consider some examples (adapted from the book Introductory Biomechanics - From Cells to Organisms):
- How do your bones "know" how big and strong to be so that they can support your weight and deal with the loads imposed on them? Evidence shows that the growth and maintenance of bone is driven by mechanical stimuli. More specifically, mechanical stresses and strains induce bone cells (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) to add or remove bone just where it is needed. Although this process is known since more than 100 years, we are still far from a full understating of the complex interaction between external forces and bone adaptation. Nevertheless, this knowledge is needed to better understand bone fragility and fracture.
- What about biomechanics in everyday life? Probably the most well-known application of biomechanics is in locomotion (walking, running, jumping), where our muscles generate forces that are transferred to the ground by bones and soft connective tissue. This is so commonplace that we rarely think about it, yet the biomechanics of locomotion is remarkably complex and still incompletely understood.
- What about biomechanics in the treatment of disease and dysfunction? There are obvious roles in the design of implants that have a mechanical function, such as total artificial hips, dental implants, and bone scaffolds. In the longer term, improving our understanding of how cells respond to stresses should lead to new treatments as well as to improve tissue engineering constructs.
The above examples underline the important role that biomechanics plays in health and disease. One of the central characteristics of biomechanics is that it is highly interdisciplinary, sitting at the interface between mechanics, medicine and biology.
Biomechanics is very broad and in this course the focus is on the musculoskeletal system.
The following topics will be discussed:
- Bone biomechanics
- Bone remodeling and mineralization
- Tendon and ligament biomechanics
- Cartilage biomechanics
- Soft-tissue-to-bone attachment
- Fracture healing and fixation
- Total knee replacement
- Introduction to movement biomechanics
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
At the end of the course students should be able to apply mechanical engineering principles to understand the functioning of the human (musculoskeletal) system in healthy and diseased conditions.
- Understand the origin of the mechanical properties of bone, tendon, ligament and cartilage
- Understand the impact of aging, diseases and treatments on those properties
- Understand basic principles in the design of fracture fixation devices and implants
- Communicate with biomedical experts and clinicians
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
General knowledge of mechanical principles as covered by bachelor courses PHYS2020-1 and MECA0001-1.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
- Face-to-face teaching & flipped classroom
- Collabortaive projects with Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
- Exercise sessions including computational biomechanics
- Possibility to perform experimental biomechanical testing
- Invited seminars, webinars and podcasting
- Visit to the human movement laboratory (ULiege)
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face
Recommended or required readings
- Reference textbook: Orthopaedic Biomechanics by D.L. Bartel, D.T. Davy and T.M. Keaveny, Pearson Prentice Hall Bioengineering. Several copies are available at the library.
- Detailed slides (in English) will be made available to the students prior to each lecture.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
During the course assignments will be given that need to be solved by the students and corrcted in the class. The assignments will be discussed during the oral exam in which the depth and width of the student's knowledge on the discussed topics will be evaluated.
For the final oral exam, there will be the possibility to perform a research project in collaboration with students from Politecnico di Milano (Italy). More information will be given during the course
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
See CELCAT
Contacts
Davide Ruffoni
druffoni@ulg.ac.be
Phone: +32 43669359
Website: www.biomat.uliege.be
Association of one or more MOOCs
There is no MOOC associated with this course.