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+Stiffness modulation of redundant musculoskeletal systems
+===
+
+[![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/157207358.svg)](https://zenodo.org/badge/latestdoi/157207358)
+
+
+`git lfs install`
+
+`git lfs clone https://github.com/mitkof6/musculoskeletal-redundancy.git`
+
+
+Description
+---
+
+This project contains the source code related to the following publication:
+
+Dimitar Stanev and Konstantinos Moustakas, Stiffness Modulation of
+Redundant Musculoskeletal Systems, Journal of Biomechanics, vol. 85,
+pp. 101-107, Mar. 2019, DOI:
+https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2019.01.017
+
+This work presents a framework for computing the limbs' stiffness using inverse
+methods that account for the musculoskeletal redundancy effects. The
+musculoskeletal task, joint and muscle stiffness are regulated by the central
+nervous system towards improving stability and interaction with the environment
+during movement. Many pathological conditions, such as Parkinson's disease,
+result in increased rigidity due to elevated muscle tone in antagonist muscle
+pairs, therefore the stiffness is an important quantity that can provide
+valuable information during the analysis phase. Musculoskeletal redundancy poses
+significant challenges in obtaining accurate stiffness results without
+introducing critical modeling assumptions. Currently, model-based estimation of
+stiffness relies on some objective criterion to deal with muscle redundancy,
+which, however, cannot be assumed to hold in every context. To alleviate this
+source of error, our approach explores the entire space of possible solutions
+that satisfy the action and the physiological muscle constraints. Using the
+notion of null space, the proposed framework rigorously accounts for the effect
+of muscle redundancy in the computation of the feasible stiffness
+characteristics. To confirm this, comprehensive case studies on hand movement
+and gait are provided, where the feasible endpoint and joint stiffness is
+evaluated. Notably, this process enables the estimation of stiffness
+distribution over the range of motion and aids in further investigation of
+factors affecting the capacity of the system to modulate its stiffness. Such
+knowledge can significantly improve modeling by providing a holistic overview of
+dynamic quantities related to the human musculoskeletal system, despite its
+inherent redundancy.
+    
+
+Repository Overview
+---
+
+- arm_model: simulation of simple arm model and feasible task stiffness
+- feasible_joint_stiffness: calculation of the feasible joint stiffness loads,
+  by accounting for musculoskeletal redundancy effects
+- docker: a self contained docker setup file, which installs all dependencies
+  related to the developed algorithms
+
+
+Demos
+---
+
+The user can navigate into the corresponding folders and inspect the source
+code. The following case studies are provided in the form of interactive Jupyter
+notebooks:
+
+- [Arm Model](arm_model/model.ipynb) presents a case study using muscle space
+  projection to study the response of segmental level reflexes
+
+<!-- - [Muscle Space Projection](arm_model/muscle_space_projection.ipynb) -->
+<!--   demonstrates muscle space projection in the context of segmental level -->
+<!--   (reflex) modeling -->
+
+- [Feasible Muscle Forces](arm_model/feasible_muscle_forces.ipynb) uses
+  task space projection to simulate a simple hand movement, where the feasible
+  muscle forces that satisfy this task are calculated and analyzed
+  
+- [Feasible Task Stiffness](arm_model/feasible_task_stiffness.ipynb) calculates
+  the feasible task stiffness of the simple arm model for an arbitrary movement
+
+- [Feasible Joint Stiffness](feasible_joint_stiffness/feasible_joint_stiffness.ipynb) calculates
+  the feasible joint stiffness of an OpenSim model during walking
+
+The .html files corresponding to the .ipynb notebooks included in the folders
+contain the pre-executed results of the demos.
+
+
+<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><img
+alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0"
+src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is
+licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution
+4.0 International License</a>.