The laboratory UTC CNRS UMR 7338 Biomechanics and Bioengineering (http://www.utc.fr/bmbi/) at the University of Technology of Compiègne (France) invites applications for a postdoctoral position to begin at October-November 2013. The position will be awarded for 12 months within the framework of MS2T Labex (http://www.utc.fr/labexms2t/).
Title :
Supervision of the Motion of the Musculoskeletal System using Non-contact Technique coupled with a Biomechanical Model
Description :
In silico medicine based on the multi-physical model of the human body is a current research challenge in the field of biomechanics. This aims to perform objective and personalized evaluation as well as to propose appropriate and optimized treatment prescription for musculoskeletal disorders (facial disfigurement, low back pain, etc.) [1, 2]. The development and the use of such a complex multi-physical model need a system of systems (SoS) including a data acquisition and management system, a multi-physical modeling system and a graphical user interface (GUI) system. It is important to note that the simulation of multi-physical model needs to be performed in real-time with accurate results and without high performance computing (HPC) resources. Consequently, the design of our technical SoS needs to be optimized at different levels such as data acquisition and multi-physical modeling.
The objective of this project is to develop a methodology for the supervision of the motion of the musculoskeletal system using a non-contact technique coupled with a numerical deformable model describing rapidly the “accurate” behavior of biological soft (muscle, fat) and hard (bone) tissues. Thus, the non-contact technique will make the data acquisition easier and rapid. The modeling of tissue behavior will optimize the behavior of the multi-physical modeling system. The first case study is the monitoring and evaluation of facial mimics.
The postdoc project aims to achieve the following technical objectives:
1) Development of a “Digital Multi-Physical Patient Avatar”: For this task, a data fusion (3D geometries and motion) derived from a video camera system (Kinect system) will be performed.
2) Integration and coupling with a multi-physical model: this task aims to model the accurate behaviors of biological tissues using rheological visco-elastic models (e.g. Kelvin-Voigt and Maxwell) for soft tissue behavior. The main goal is to optimize the tissue deformation behavior using reduced physical-based models (model reduction of both geometry and behavior). The simulation result needs to be in agreement with the result of Finite Element Analysis [1, 2].
The developed methodology will be integrated into the whole system of systems to create a simulation platform for the analysis, monitoring and evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders (facial disfigurement, lower limb pathologies, low back pain, etc.).
Job salary: 2500 euros per month.
Candidates profile: PhD in one of the following fields: Computer Graphics, Computational Biomechanics, Applied Mathematics
The candidate needs have the following experiences:
3D geometric and physical modeling, visualization, texture rendering and animation
Advanced programming experiences in Visual C++ or Visual C#
To apply, please send to hobatho@utc.fr, alain.rassineux@utc.fr, tien-tuan.dao@utc.fr the following documents:
- Curriculum vitae, motivation letter and at least one copy of a peer-review journal publication
- At least two references and/or recommendation letters
- A statement of research experience and interests
The closing date for the application is no later than 15 September 2013.
Contact for more information:
Tien Tuan DAO, PhD
UMR 7338 Biomechanics and Bioengineering
Email: tien-tuan.dao@utc.fr
References
[1] TT Dao, S Dakpé, P Pouletaut, B Devauchelle, MC Ho Ba Tho. Facial Mimics Simulation using MRI and Finite Element Analysis. 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC’13), 3-7 July 2013, Osaka, Japan.
[2] Ho Ba Tho MC, TT Dao, Bensamoun S, Dakpe S, Devauchelle B, Rachik M. Subject Specific Modeling of the Muscle Activation. Application to the Facial Mimics. Advances in Intelligent and Soft Computing (Springer-Verlag Ed.) 2013, In Press.