MRes Bioengineering Research Project
Title of the project: Computational Modelling of Human Prenatal Movements
Supervisor 1: Niamh Nowlan
Department: Bioengineering
Imperial College campus: South Kensington
email: n.nowlan@imperial.ac.uk
Supervisor 2: Andrew Phillips
Department: Civil Engineering
Imperial College campus: South Kensington
email: andrew.phillips@imperial.ac.uk
Project Description: (up to 200 words)
We have almost no understanding of what biomechanical stimuli are induced when a baby kicks in
the womb. However, it is known that when movement is reduced or restricted, abnormalities of the
bones and joints can result. This project will use unique Cine-MRI data which show limb movements
in prenatal subjects at a range of developmental ages. A computational simulation will be developed
to predict what biophysical stimuli are induced in the developing bones and joints by fetal
movements, for normal and abnormal intrauterine environments.
The first step in the project will be to extract movement data from the MRI cine data. Next, joint
reaction forces will be calculated where an inverse rigid body dynamics model will be constructed in
Matlab with the limb segments modelled as connected rigid bodies. The forces and moments at the
joints will then be used to perform static optimisation to estimate muscle and joint contact forces,
with a program such as OpenSim (https://simtk.org/home/opensim). This will involve modelling the
skeletal elements with the major muscles in order to make a best approximation of which muscles
are acting to move the limbs according to the particular movement sequence. Successful completion
of this research project will contribute to a greater understanding of how reduced fetal movement
can have a negative effect on the development of bones and joints.
Key techniques: (please include only the names of techniques, not a description)
Inverse rigid body dynamics, Matlab, musculoskeletal modelling, OpenSim (full training will be
supplied)
References: (up to 3 references related to the project)
1. De Vries, J. I. P., and B. F. Fong. "Normal fetal motility: an overview." Ultrasound in obstetrics
& gynecology 27, no. 6 (2006): 701-711.
2. Nowlan, Niamh C., et al. "Mechanobiology of embryonic skeletal development: insights from
animal models." Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews 90.3 (2010): 203213.