Muscle‑Tendon Unit Length Measurement Using 3D Ultrasound in Passive Conditions: OpenSim Validation and Development of Personalized Models

Abstract

This study investigated the validity of using OpenSim to measure muscle-tendon unit (MTU) length of the bi-articular lower limb muscles in several postures (shortened, lengthened, a combination of shortened and lengthened involving both joints, neutral and standing) using 3D freehand ultrasound (US), and to propose new personalized models. MTU length was measured on 14 participants and 6 bi-articular muscles (semimembranosus SM, semitendinosus ST, biceps femoris BF, rectus femoris RF, gastrocnemius medialis GM and gastrocnemius lateralis GL), considering 5 to 6 postures. MTU length was computed using OpenSim with three different models: OS (the generic OpenSim scaled model), OS + INSER (OS with personalized 3D US MTU insertions), OS + INSER+ PATH (OS with personalized 3D US MTU insertions and path obtained from one posture). Significant differences in MTU length were found between OS and 3D US models for RF, GM and GL (from − 6.3 to 10.9%). Non-significant effects were reported for the hamstrings, notably for the ST (− 1.5%) and BF (− 1.9%), while the SM just crossed the alpha level (− 3.4%, p = 0.049). The OS+ INSER model reduced the magnitude of bias by an average of 4% for RF, GM and GL. The OS + INSER+ PATH model showed the smallest biases in length estimates, which made them negligible and non-significant for all the MTU (i.e. ≤ 2.2%). A 3D US pipeline was developed and validated to estimate the MTU length from a limited number of measurements. This opens up new perspectives for personalizing musculoskeletal models using low-cost user-friendly devices.