Biomedical Engineering Research Topics

🔥 New Research on the Fire Performance of Steel-Timber Hybrid Structures At OFR Consultants, we not only undertake meaningful research and publish in peer reviewed outlets ourselves; we also invest in future fire safety research 🌟 🌟 🌟 by funding doctoral studentships that advance knowledge in our sector. Our latest study led by Aatish Jeebodh from the The University of Sheffield shows some of the fruits of our commitment. 🔦 This research sheds some light on the critical aspects of fire safety in steel-timber hybrid constructions, a topic of importance to the construction industry right now given current trends. While steel-timber hybrids are gaining attention as alternatives to traditional framing methods, there are concerns regarding their structural fire performance, especially in terms of lateral-torsional buckling of the steel beams and connection integrity under fire conditions. This research specifically addresses the behaviour of steel beams connected to cross-laminated timber slabs via screws, under fire scenarios. The findings indicate that the steel beams are highly sensitive to assumptions made regarding the lateral restraint achieved by the often screwed connections to #CLT slabs. Employing a parametric study based on Eurocode 3 design equations, we analysed the buckling resistance of simply supported steel beams and beam-columns with different span-to-depth ratios. The study reveals that assuming these members are fully restrained by the connecting screws in fire conditions may lead to unrealistic design assumptions and potentially unsafe structures. You can read the paper proof open access here: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eREXFdwg #FireSafety #StructuralEngineering #HybridStructures #Research #BuildingSafety Shan-Shan Huang

We keep blaming the tendon. But maybe the cortex fired first. Rio E, et al. Br J Sports Med 2016 (DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095215) Their work reframed tendinopathy: the real dysfunction isn’t just in the tendon, it’s in the brain’s blueprint that controls it. They found that chronic tendinopathy alters motor-cortical inhibition, the brain literally dials down drive to the affected muscle group. Translation: your tendon’s not lazy; your brain keeps hitting the brakes. Rehab takeaway: Traditional loading fixes the structure. But “Tendon Neuroplastic Training” externally-paced, skill-based strength work rewires the system. It trains the cortex, the coordination, and the confidence back into the kinetic chain. Clinical Pearl: The next time you scan or treat a stubborn tendon, remember: you’re looking at the echo of an upstream glitch. Isometric loading (Brad Thorpe), metronome pacing, and movement variability aren’t gimmicks, they’re cortical medicine disguised as exercise.

On Friday I've mentioned we have a new paper out and it will be available "soon", I did not expect that soon. Thanks to excellent service of Elsevier, the paper is now availble online! Now I have an opportunity to quickly explain, what the paper is about. It's about the concept of 'natural ventilation' of open car parks in case of a fire. Or rather, on how it does not work... Remember the big car park fires of previous years? Liverpool Echo, Stavanger Airport, Warsaw residential complex, Luton Airport and many others. What connects them - they were all open car parks. In many legislations it is assumed that if car park is open, it will vent itself (in case of a fire too). Or perhaps thats not even an assumption - it is just there, and I have a feeling no one ever really validated this hypothesis. Here comes our research - we've attempted to simulate ALL possible wind/fire scenarios in an open car park for a fixed fire location. For 48 possible combinations of wind velocity/direction, the simulations were repeated for 4 different design fires, leaving us with 192 individual simulations. For the assesment, we came up with the concept of 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. Kind of similar to the 'trigger boundaries' you've recently heard about in the Fire Science Show. In this concept, we calculate the percentage of time, in which the outcomes of the fire are favourable. What it means? We assess the smoke spread, temperature, velocities and firefighter access in every individual scenario, and decide if the outcomes are good, acceptable or bad. Based on those scores we decide if the system works or not, for every single wind-fire scenario. As we know the probability of wind - we can put a number on % of times the outcomes are good... ...and yeah. Unfortunately it is mostly bad. Just to repeat the abstract: "𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 84.9 % - 92.8 % 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘙𝘙 = 1.4 𝘔𝘞; 36.5% - 56.1%  𝘢𝘵 4.0 𝘔𝘞; 34.1 % - 54.4 % 𝘢𝘵 6.0 𝘔𝘞 𝘢𝘯𝘥 12.13 – 25.5 % 𝘢𝘵 8.8 𝘔𝘞. " This is pretty bad. For larger fires, the system 'worked' in only 12-25% cases. Thats less than a coin toss. Is it intended? No clue. I have a feeling the 'natural ventilation' was never meant to be a true equivalent of smoke and heat exhaust ventilation. Yet, in most legislations it is legal, and I guess people assume it gives some level of safety. Well, here we've put a number on that level, and for me it does not look great... Anyway, if you are interested, here is the study: https://lnkd.in/dJTbKu7N

Still Calling Every Tendon Pain “Tendinitis”? Time to Upgrade Our Diagnosis. In the clinic, I often meet patients who say: “I’ve had shoulder tendinitis for 6 months I keep taking painkillers, but it never fully goes away.” Or athletes who tell me: “My Achilles flares up every time I run, so I rest for a week… then it comes back.” The issue? We’re mislabeling chronic tendon problems as “tendinitis” when in reality most of them are actually Tendinosis or Tendinopathy, which need loading, not rest. Tendinitis (Acute Inflammation) Example: A weekend badminton player wakes up next morning with sudden elbow pain warm, swollen, tender. Responds well to relative rest + ice + isometric holds + short-term NSAIDs. Tendinosis (Chronic Degeneration) Example: A runner with 3-month Achilles pain no swelling, worst in the morning, returns every time after rest. Resting or painkillers won’t fix it. Needs eccentric heel drops / heavy slow resistance loading to remodel the tendon. Tendinopathy (Umbrella Term) Example: Office worker with dull shoulder pain that worsens with lifting. No clear injury. Not sure if acute or chronic? Manage based on load tolerance #Physiotherapy #StrengthAndConditioning #SportsRehab #Tendinopathy #EvidenceBasedPractice

Females who participate in high-risk sports suffer ACL injury at a 4 to 6-fold greater rate than males. Lack of active neuromuscular control, as evidenced by increased knee abduction motion and torque and passive stability of the joint, as evidenced by increased joint laxity may destabilize the knee and are predictive of increased ACL injury risk in female athletes. ACL injury likely occurs under conditions of high dynamic loading of the knee joint, when active muscular restraints do not adequately compensate for and adequately dampen joint loads.Decreased neuromuscular control of the joint may place stress on the passive ligament structures that exceed the failure strength of the ligament. Neuromuscular control of high load movements is required to maintain dynamic knee stability during landing and pivoting.5, Hamstrings and quadriceps co-contraction may provide dynamic joint stabilization and potentially protect the knee during sports related tasks. Males demonstrate increased relative strength and relative recruitment, of the hamstrings compared to quadriceps during dynamic knee loading tasks.

Elevated temperatures can cause significant structural damage, becoming the primary cause of casualties, economic losses, and material damage. If a structure catches fire, the primary concern is How material reacts to these severe conditions ? How can we predict their performance at different stress levels? Our recent research addresses these critical questions. We developed a finite element model and analyzed it various scenarios to gain insights into material behavior under fire conditions. We examined the material behavior for factors like thermal conductivity, crack width, deflection, and more. For further details, please refer to the preprint of our work at https://lnkd.in/ecJkNwav This research is the result of the dedicated efforts of our team at #Oscar Lab (https://lnkd.in/eNcHABNq) and the invaluable support and guidance of my supervisor Dr. Basuraj Bhowmik, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT(BHU), Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi.

Treat the cause, not just the symptoms. Let’s stop chasing the knee and start understanding the whole system. Chondromalacia Patella & the Biomechanical Chain: Anterior knee pain from chondromalacia patellae isn't just about the cartilage—it's a biomechanical domino effect. When the patellar cartilage softens or wears, the root issue often lies in dysfunctional movement patterns and muscle imbalances. Here's what we should be looking at: 1. VMO & Quads: When the vastus medialis oblique isn’t firing properly, the patella tracks laterally—hello joint stress. 2. Hamstrings: Tight hamstrings alter pelvic tilt and knee dynamics, loading the front of the knee. 3. IT Band & TFL: A tight IT band pulls the patella outward, increasing lateral pressure. 4. Glute Med & Max: Weak hip abductors and external rotators cause femoral internal rotation = valgus collapse = patellar misalignment. 5. Calves (Gastrocnemius/Soleus): Limited dorsiflexion leads to compensation up the kinetic chain, often landing in the knee. Rehab Must Be Global. Targeting only the quads won't fix the issue. Think: Glute activation drills ITB and hamstring mobility VMO strengthening (terminal knee extensions, step-downs) Functional movement retraining #Rehab #Biomechanics #Chondromalacia #PhysicalTherapy #MovementMatters #OrthopedicRehab

raKA post 19 – Are we dialling out and then dialling back in? Just thinking aloud…. In valgus knees, it is not an uncommon practice to plan for more ER of the femoral component on the belief that it is required for proper patellar tracking and also to compensate for lateral condylar hypoplasia (the latter has been refuted by MRI study by Stefano Bini). One of the consequences of rotating around a central pivot point is to lose posteromedial offset – leading to increased posteromedial gap which will be even more of a problem in valgus knees! To avoid that, it has been suggested to rotate around the posterior medial femoral condyle. However, this will result in even less resection of posterior lateral femoral condyle than implant thickness and posterolateral overstuffing.  You can see in the PSI simulation that 5 degree of ER results in 4 mm over stuffing. This would often require soft tissue release in the lateral space (due to iatrogenic narrowing of the flexion gap laterally). That was my practise during my MA days and most of the time, I had to do the classic Ranawat release – ITB pie crusting (to increase lateral gap in extension – the distal lateral overstuffing of course occurs with MA) and posterolateral corner release (to increase lateral gap in flexion). After moving on the raKA personal alignment philosophy, I hardly ER the femoral component even in valgus knees (after taking into any posterolateral wear). Initially, I used to be worried about significant mal tracking issues but that does not seem to be the case and requirement for lateral retinacular release is rare even with neutral or almost neutral rotation in relation to PCA. I often wondered why? One possible reason probably is by avoiding over stuffing the distal lateral femoral condyle (by following close to native LDFA) tension in the lateral retinacular structures is not increased. This post is about the second possible reason. When doing the release, the knee is in 90 degree flexion and distracted by a knee spreader. Once the release is done, there is often a visible movement of the posterolateral cut surface of the femur and the gap increases by a few mm. So, if the flexion gap opens on the lateral side after the release, the only possible way it can occur is by internal rotation of the distal femur (hinging on the medial side) in relation to the tibial surface? While the femoral component is still in external rotation relative to native PCA, does it mean the soft tissue release dials the femoral component back to how it was in relation to the tibial tuberosity and quadriceps vector? Perhaps then the effect of external rotation dialled initially has been nullified and essentially not needed? Just a thought - not sure if this has been explored before.  Personalized Arthroplasty Society Pascal-André Vendittoli Vincent Massé Akash D Sharma Brian Fuller Sebastien Parratte Spencer Montgomery Richard Southgate Plasman Simon

🔥Understanding Fire Risks in Steel Storage Racks 🔥 Excited to share our recent publication, "Fire Resistance of Steel Rack Frames: Assessment, Reinforcement and Collapse Mitigation Strategies," now available in Fire Technology journal by Springer Nature. 📜 Steel rack frames are indispensable in today’s global logistics and warehousing operations, yet their resilience under fire has received limited attention. Our study fills this gap by examining the vulnerabilities of steel pallet racks to fire and exploring potential reinforcement strategies. Key insights include: 🛠️ Impact of fire on structural stability: From localized failures to full collapses 🔧 Reinforcement options: Improved load-bearing under extreme temperatures 💧 Fire suppression systems: Effectiveness of sprinklers and oxygen control chambers Marco Simoncelli, Marco Zucca and me hope these findings can guide safer storage solutions and encourage engineering practices that prioritize fire resilience. If you're involved in structural safety, fire engineering, or logistics, this paper may provide valuable insights for enhancing your systems. 📖 Access the study and help us spread the word to drive industry change and knowledge sharing. Full paper available here: https://lnkd.in/e9WsJdr3. #FireEngineering #StructuralSafety #SteelStructures #Logistics #Research #CivilEngineering

The Evolution of Rotational Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty: From Historical Insights to Modern Validation 🔶One of the most important yet under-appreciated aspects of TKA is the relationship between coronal and rotational alignment. ►Dr. John Moreland's work in the 1980s highlighted a critical insight that continues to influence modern knee surgery, and recent research has provided quantitative validation of his observations. Historical Context: (see Dr. Moreland’s illustration below) →Hungerford's approach: Place tibia in 3° varus, cut posterior femur parallel to posterior condylar axis →Insall's technique: Place tibia perpendicular to mechanical axis (90°), balance posterior (flexion) gap with external rotation 🔑 Moreland's Key Insight: Coronal and axial alignment are fundamentally related, not independent variables. His radiographic studies showed that the knee joint surface naturally sits at ~3° varus to the tibial mechanical axis, with significant individual variation. Insall recommended 3° external rotation of the femoral prosthesis to balance the flexion gap when mechanical alignment is used. 🔶Modern Validation (Lee et al., 2018): Recent navigation-assisted TKA research has quantified this relationship: ◼️1° increase in lateral distal femoral angle → 0.67-0.71° decrease in required external rotation ◼️Bony anatomy (not soft tissue factors) was the primary driver of rotational needs 🔶Clinical Implications: When we adjust coronal alignment, we inherently affect rotational positioning. The research shows that: ☑️Navigation systems can quantify these relationships in real-time ☑️Individual anatomy, not generic targets, should guide component positioning ☑️Understanding coronal alignment helps predict rotational requirements 🟩 Modern Relevance: Successful TKA requires understanding the 3D interconnected nature of alignment parameters, not treating them as isolated variables. References: Moreland, JR, Bassett, LW, Hanker, GJ: Radiographic analysis of the axial alignment of the lower extremity.: The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery 1987;69:745–749. Lee, S-S, Lee, Y-I, Kim, D-U, Lee, D-H, Moon, Y-W: Factors affecting femoral rotational angle based on the posterior condylar axis in gap-based navigation-assisted total knee arthroplasty for valgus knee. PLoS ONE 2018;13:e0197335. Dossett HG, Deckey DG, Clark HD, Spangehl MJ. Individualizing a Total Knee Arthroplasty with Three-Dimensional Planning. JAAOS Glob Res Rev 2024;8: e24.00023 DOI: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-24-00023 OPEN ACCESS #TotalKneeArthroplasty #OrthopedicSurgery #RotationalAlignment #NavigationAssistedTKA #KinematicAlignment #SurgicalTechnique #OrthopedicResearch #EvidenceBasedMedicine #JointReplacement #SurgicalInnovation