Editorial: Advances in Musculoskeletal Modeling and Their Application to Neurorehabilitation

Mohammad S. Shourijeh, Naser Mehrabi, John McPhee, Benjamin J. Fregly

Abstract: Neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) modeling has the potential to serve as a valuable tool for informing the design of assistive devices or neurorehabilitation interventions. For these applications, an NMS model must be able to represent the relevant unique characteristics of the targeted subject, e.g., a person with a neurological disorder. Motion predictive simulations, by considering the task constraints and the neuromuscular requirements, can predict novel movements. Such simulation methods must ideally capture the features and functionalities of the motor control system to mimic human neuromechanical behavior. If a simulation performed with an NMS model fails to accurately predict how a person moves or how that person controls his or her muscles during movement, it will have limited utility for informing device and intervention design. Although, in the past few years, several studies have developed NMS models and techniques to anticipate responses to interventions, e.g., orthopedic surgery, orthoses, or neurorehabilitation, a well-established rigorous framework that can accurately predict neuromusculoskeletal dynamics of healthy and pathologic individuals is still lacking in the research community. Even after the published papers of this topic, there is a strong need for greater research effort in the area of NMS model personalization and personalized simulations of treatment design.One of the emerging application areas for personalized NMS models is in the design of assistive...