December 2023
ISB Now December
Table of contents
- President's Blog
-
Students' Corner
Updates from the Student Representative
ISB Student Grant News
-
Biomechanics Through Time
-
ISB 50th Anniversary – two special issues have been published
-
Reduced Publication Fees for ISB Members in the JAB
-
Affiliate Societies News
International Women in Biomechanics: the wikibomb initiative
Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics Technical Group
-
ISB Awards
Clinical Biomechanics: Dr. Cennis’s award manuscript has just come out
Student Reports
ISB World Athletics Award for Biomechanics: aplications open soon!
-
National Biomechanics Day in 2024
-
Biomechanics updates from the ISB South America representative
-
The ISB Executive Council is currently accepting bids to host the 2027 Congress
Scroll down to see all featured articles:
President's Blog
The ISB Executive Council has had a busy quarter, and I’m pleased to provide some updates for our members.
The ISB have recently completed an internal review of the ISB Congress hosting guidelines, to help improve transparency and clarity of what is involved in hosting an ISB congress, and how the applications will be assessed. This is great timing because we are calling for bids for the ISB Congress in 2027. If you are interested in hosting the ISB congress in 2027 – NOW is the time to get in touch with us and discuss (contact our wonderful President-Elect Felipe: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
ISB is also very pleased to announce our support for a Women in Biomechanics “Wikibomb” event, initiated by our new Affiliate Society, International Women in Biomechanics. The event will help increase the visibility of Women biomechanists on Wikipedia. You can find more details about this event in this newsletter, and in coming newsletters, and we are also working with ISB Affiliate Societies to promote the event. I hope you will consider signing up to participate in this event.
We are also continuing to support the development of “ISB recommendations on the assessment, estimation and reporting of joint kinematics in human motion analysis applications using wearable inertial sensing technology”. Many of you would have seen the fantastic presentation on this topic in Fukuoka, and hopefully you completed the survey to provide input or feedback on this important topic. ISB have made additional social media posts through X and Facebook to seek final feedback and input on this topic, and now the responses are being incorporated by the authors into their paper. I want to thank the authors for proposing this topic, and for providing the opportunity to our members to have input, and of course thank you to all ISB members who have provided comments and feedback through the survey.
In addition, ISB is continuing to work on the 50th anniversary special editions and special papers. Thank you to our Past-President Alberto for continuing to lead this, and to the many ISB members who have contributed to and supported this initiative.
I hope you enjoy this edition of the ISB Now Newsletter, and I hope you all have an enjoyable end-of-year and New Year 2024. It’s summer time for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere, and I’m looking forward to the summer break!
Elizabeth Clarke
ISB President
Back to Table of Contents
Updates from the Student Representative
I hope that everyone is wrapping up a great semester at school! Below are a few things to keep an eye out for:
Upcoming Selected Events
December 2023 Australian and New Zealand Society of Biomechanics Regional
April 2024 British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Student Conference
April 2024 Conference of the German Society of Biomechanics
July 2024 International Society of Biomechanics in Sports Conference
July 2024 Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics
August 2024 American Society of Biomechanics Meeting
August 2024 Canadian Society of Biomechanics Conference
December 2024 International Symposium of 3-D Analysis of Human Movement
Science in the Break (SitB)
Keep in touch!
Stay up to date with ISB by liking our ISB Facebook page, joining the Student Members Facebook page, and following ISB on Twitter. Please reach out to me with any comments, questions, suggestions, or just to talk. You can contact me at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Best Wishes,
Shaye Tiell
ISB Student Representative:
Back to Table of Contents
ISB Student Grant News
The student grant program deadlines have been updated for 2024. Upcoming grants, including the Matching Dissertation Grant (MDG), International Travel Grant Program (ITG), and International Affiliate Development Grant (IADG), will be accepting applications with a deadline of January 31, 2024. These long-standing student grants offer support to grow your research toolbox, network with a visit to a lab in another country and support the completion of your dissertation project.
Additionally, the ISB Executive Council is happy to announce that the ITG and IADG grants have been increased from $2500 USD to $3500 USD this year to better offset travel costs.
Friendly reminder: you and your advisor must be active financial members of the ISB to participate in these grant programs. Don’t forget to renew your membership for 2024!
More details are available at https://isbweb.org/students/student-grants.
Erica Bell, PhD
ISB Executive Council Student Awards Officer
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Back to Table of Contents
Biomechanics Through Time
Here, you will uncover historical information about the society. Enjoy these nuggets curated by John Challis, our Archives Officer.
The first commercial force plate was available from Kistler in 1969. That force plate used piezoelectric crystals, the first commercial strain-gauge force plate was available from AMTI in 1976. Early pioneers had made their own force plates (e.g., Elftman, H. (1938). The measurement of the external force in walking. Science, 88(2276), 152-153).
The ISB emerged from a series of conferences (1967 - Zurich, 1969 - Eindhoven, 1971 - Rome, 1973 – Penn State). The proceedings from those conferences include papers describing force plate design and manufacture, and the measurements which can be made from those plates. One of the authors of such papers was (Andrew) Howard Payne (1931-1992), pictured above. His work at these conferences included,
- Payne, A. (1969). The use of force platforms for the study of physical activity. In J. Wartenweiler, E. Jokl, & M. Hebbelinck (Eds.), Biomechanics: Technique of Drawings of Movement and Movement Analysis (Vol. 2, pp. 83-86). Baltimore, Maryland: Karger Publishers. (presented at conference in 1967)
- Payne, A., & Blader, F. (1971). The mechanics of the sprint start. In J. Vredenbreght & J. Wartenweiler (Eds.), Biomechanics II (Vol. 2, pp. 225-231). New York, NY: Karger Publishers. (presented at conference in 1969)
- Payne, A. H. (1974). A force platform system for biomechanics research in sport. In R. C. Nelson & C. A. Morehouse (Eds.), Biomechanics IV (pp. 502-509). Baltimore: University Park Press. (presented at conference in 1973)
Howard was not just a biomechanist, with a degree in physics, he also competed at three consecutive Olympic Games as a hammer thrower (1964 - Tokyo, 1968 – Mexico, and 1972 – Montreal). He had considerable success at British Empire and Commonwealth Games winning gold at the 1962 games in Perth, the 1966 games in Kingston, the 1970 games in Edinburgh, and finally a silver at the 1974 games in Christchurch at the age of 43. Howard was active as a hammer thrower at the same time as being active in research and at conferences.
Howard was a long-term faculty member at the University of Birmingham. He is a charter member of the ISB. He contributed to the ISB by being the newsletter editor of the Force Platform Group (1976-1978), and group chairperson (1978-1980), a group formed in 1973. He also remained active at ISB Congresses, for example at the 1987 Congress in Amsterdam he presented,
- Payne, A. (1988). The hinged moment, lean angle and braking forces at the feet in human movement. In G. De Groot, A. P. Hollander, P. A. Huijing, & G. J. Van Ingen Schenau (Eds.), Biomechanics XI-B (pp. 949-955). Amsterdam: Free University Press.
Back to Table of Contents
ISB 50th Anniversary – two special issues have been published
Within the many initiatives marking the great celebration of the 50th anniversary of ISB, progress continues on the six Special Issues collaborating with major biomechanics journals, as previously announced in ISB Now's June and December 2022 editions. We are delighted to share the links to the two completed issues now available in the Journal of Biomechanics, with the others soon to follow. There remains an opportunity for manuscript contributions. Should you wish to submit, please directly contact the respective Guest Editor (refer to ISB Now, Dec. 2022) or reach out to Alberto Leardini.
Through this initiative, our intention is to create a lasting record within this significant milestone for our society, highlighting both accomplished achievements and areas requiring further exploration.
Links to the completed issues:
Back to Table of Contents
Reduced Publication Fees for ISB Members in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics
|
The ISB has partnered with the Journal of Applied Biomechanics to provide members with full access to the journal content and reduced publication fees.
|
 |
Back to Table of Contents
Affiliate Societies News
International Women in Biomechanics
In our previous issue of the ISB Now, we welcomed the International Women in Biomechanics as our new affiliate society of ISB. Here is an exciting update regarding the Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb.
Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb
Wikipedia is Earth's most widely read knowledge repository, with approximately two billion unique device visits per month. Despite this, less than 20% of Wikipedia biographies are about women. A search of 'Women in Biomechanics' on Wikipedia in 2023 by Emeritus Professor Julie Steele returned no results. We want to change this.
With the help of our biomechanics community, across 2024, we will undertake a Wikibomb to create and update Wikipedia biographies of notable women in biomechanics. For more information about what makes someone notable click here.
The Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb is an initiative of the International Society of Biomechanics and will ensure that women biomechanists are visible to younger female scientists on Wikipedia so they can imagine education and careers in biomechanics – just like us!
To conduct the Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb we are calling on the biomechanics community to volunteer their time in one of two capacities. Please join us by:
- Volunteering to write or update a profile of a notable woman in biomechanics and/or
- Joining the editorial team who will systematically review and upload the profiles
Please note that a template and clear instructions on how to write and edit profiles will be provided in early March 2024 for all volunteers. We plan to complete the profiles across 2024 and celebrate our success (aiming to edit and create 100 profiles of notable women in biomechanics) at ISB 2025. However, our efforts won't stop there; in undertaking this activity, we will establish a systematic process for creating and editing Wikipedia pages so that, as a community, we can continue to build and expand this resource.
Please join us by registering your interest to participate in the Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb by the 31st December 2023 via the following Google Form.
Thank you,
Celeste & Fraje
(Women in Biomechanics Wikibomb Coordinators)
|
|
|
|
Associate Professor Celeste Coltman Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Dr Fraje Watson Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Back to Table of Contents
Technical Group News
Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics Technical Group
The Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics (CNB) technical group held its biennial election for Board Positions in late July 2023. We are pleased to announce that the following Board positions have now been confirmed:
Board Members Positions
Chairperson: Taylor Dick, University of Queensland
Communications Officer and Vice Chair: Monica Daley, UC Irvine
Secretary General: Natalie Holt, UC Riverside
Membership Officer: Chris Richards, The Royal Veterinary College
Treasurer: Jonas Rubenson, Penn State University
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Officer: Christopher Arellano, University of Arizona
Student/Postdoc Officer: Armita Manafzadeh, Yale University
Member at Large: Gregory Sawicki, Georgia Tech
Upcoming CNB events:
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Seattle WA, USA, 2-4 January 2024:
Many CNB members will be attending the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Seattle, USA in January 2024. Attending board members will be working to raise awareness of CNB activities by presenting a poster, speaking at the business meetings of the Division of Vertebrate Morphology and the Division of Comparative Biomechanics, and coordinating an informal evening social. SICB hosts a large number of scientists interested in comparative biomechanics, and we hope to encourage them to join CNB and become involved in the International Society for Biomechanics.
American Society for Biomechanics, Madison WI, USA, 5-8 August 2024
The CNB board and members will be attending the annual meeting for the American Society for Biomechanics in Madison Wisconsin, USA in August 2024. We will coordinate a thematic poster session and a social gathering at this conference. Board member Monica Daley is serving on the ASB Program committee and hopes to help ensure a strong representation of CNB membership research in the program, with sessions that include both comparative animal and human-focused studies on conceptually similar topics in neuromuscular biomechanics.
International Society of Biomechanics in Sockholm, Sweden, 27-31 July 2025
CNB plans to host a satellite symposium in association with the next International Society of Biomechanics meeting in Stockholm, Sweden in July 2025. The CNB board members are still developing the plans for this symposium, and welcome suggestions and ideas! Please sign up to the CNB email list if you are interested in receiving updates about upcoming CNB events!
Stay tuned for upcoming activities and events by joining the CNB email list (https://sites.psu.edu/cnbgroup/join/) and follow us on Twitter (@CNBiomechanics).
Back to Table of Contents
Clinical Biomechanics - Dr. Cennis’s award manuscript has just come out
Francesco Cenni is a research fellow (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships, European Union’s programme) at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä (Finland).
“My experience at the ISB congress in Fukuoka was both scientifically enriching and personally fulfilling. I am very grateful to the ISB community for receiving the Clinical Biomechanics award. In addition, participating in this award process motivated me to efficiently finalize the full version of our study on the interplay between the medial gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon in cerebral palsy. I am excited to announce that now this paper is published (ISB clinical biomechanics award winner 2023: Medial gastrocnemius muscle and Achilles tendon interplay during gait in cerebral palsy). By combining traditional gait analysis with ultrasonography, we revealed the enhanced muscle's role in energy absorption during stance phase of the gait cycle. Considering the current knowledge of increased intramuscular stiffness in cerebral palsy, these results suggest the exploitation of intramuscular passive forces for such energy absorption. On a personal level, this recognition marked the perfect conclusion of my postdoctoral experience at the University of Jyväskylä and instilled confidence for my future research activities. I look forward to contributing further to this community at the next congress”.
Back to Table of Contents
Student Reports
Raphaël Hamard. Nantes University, Nantes, France: International Travel Grant
I have just started to work as a postdoctoral researcher at Nantes University (France).
I did a research mobility in the Dr Taylor Dick’s lab at the University of Queensland (Australia). My research stay lasted 19 weeks.
The main goal of this research stay was to conduct a study which aims to assess the influence of passive ankle exoskeletons on the neuromuscular control of the leg muscles during balance. To this purpose, we collected data on 20 participants. For each participant, the data collection lasted approximately three hours.
During the experiment, participants performed eight different balance tasks, with and without passive ankle exoskeleton. We first recorded the muscle activity of the tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis and soleus using high-density electromyography to determine whether the passive ankle exoskeleton affects the neural control of balance. Then, we further imaged the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius medialis using B-mode ultrasound to determine whether the passive ankle exoskeleton influence the muscle fascicle behavior during balance.
We also recorded motion capture data and ground reactive force during both the high-density electromyography protocol and the B-mode ultrasound protocol to determine the influence of passive ankle exoskeleton on kinematics and balance performance. These data would also enable to estimate the muscle force involved using inverse dynamics.
From a work perspective, I truly enjoyed discovering a new lab after four and a half years in the same lab for my master and PhD. I believe that the Dr Taylor Dick’s lab was the perfect place for me to explore a new working environment for two main reasons. First, this lab contains a powerful suite of equipment that enables to study the movement from the motor unit and the muscle fascicle to the whole body. I therefore gain experience in a wide variety of scientific instruments. Second, in this lab, I met numerous undergraduate students, PhD students, researchers and international visiting researchers who opened my mind to a large diversity of projects. All things considered, the Dr Taylor Dick’s lab was for me a very stimulating environment where I have learned constantly. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Taylor for hosting me and for this memorable experience.
This mobility was also a rewarding experience outside the lab. It was the first time that I really live abroad, and it was an instructive experience to be in immersed in a new culture. I am very glad to have experienced the Australian “mateship”, culture and lifestyle. I will also remember the amazing fauna, flora and the diversity of landscape that we can contemplate in this beautiful country.
I believe that this research stay was a valuable experience for me from both an academic perspective and a personal life perspective mainly thanks to the people I met. As a consequence, I would recommend being proactive in making connexions with people. These interactions with people catalyze the learning process and enable to fully enjoy the new working place and the new culture.
Andrew Quarmby. University of Potsdam, Berlin, Germany: International Travel Grant
My research stay lasted for six weeks and took place in the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Lab within the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. The research stay was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Kornelia Kulig.
The primary aim was to conduct a joint research project, investigating the biomechanical alterations in people with Achilles tendinopathy. This involved in depth discussion of methods and approaches to two sets of data gathered from clinical populations at both Uni Potsdam and USC. We were able to amalgamate our knowledge and began applying new data techniques to the data available. This work will continue as we discuss the results of this analysis, and plan to write a joint research paper based upon our findings. The research stay also involved the learning of new techniques in data science and coding, particularly in MatLab software, which was a relatively new experience for me.
When considering cultural experiences, I found the interactions within the lab to be particularly rewarding. Engaging with field experts and fellow students on a daily basis allowed me to test new ideas and hypotheses, creating an environment that facilitated personal growth. Beyond the lab, I thoroughly enjoyed the stunning local nature and beaches, as well as indulging in the delicious Mexican food available.
One piece of advice I would offer future ITG recipients is to engage with their hosting institution from an early stage, develop a professional relationship with them, and enable them to be a part of the whole process. By fostering the connection from an earlier timepoint, the research stay itself will be even more rewarding and productive.
Carlos De la Fuente, Chile International Affiliate Development Grant)
I am a Physical Therapist with an MSc. in Clinical Biomechanics and Engineering Sciences. Recently, I completed my Ph.D. in Physiological Sciences from The Federal University of Pampa in Brazil, alongside diplomas in AI. I have worked in orthopedic clinics, conducted research in biomechanics labs, taken on roles as a lecturer in physical therapy, and consistently strived to enhance my academic skills before earning my degrees. I come from a non-developed country, and like many citizens, my graduate studies were delayed or developed in parallel due to the necessity of funding different life requirements.
In 2020, I won the Delsys Foundation competition, and in 2021, I received the Development Country Travel grant as well. Both grants profoundly impacted my academic journey. My interest in "good Science" ignited when I delved into the manuscripts of Professors De Luca, Benno Nigg, and von Tachnner during my PT studies. I aspired to understand how impactful scientific work begins and to witness firsthand what exemplary science looks like. In Brazil, I was fortunate to be surrounded by esteemed professors such as Dr. Carpes, Dr. Vaz, Dr. Diefenthaeler, Dr. Pereira de Andrade, Dr. Germano (Germany), Dr. Herzog (Canada), and many more professors promoted by the Brazilian Society of Biomechanics during my third academic stop.
The ISB travel grant enabled me to visit the University of Calgary with Prof. Darren Stephanyshen. The state-of-the-art facilities at the Human Performance Lab, the dedicated scientists, and the history shared about HPL by Prof. Darren left me in awe. Here, I would like to thank Prof. Herzog, who demonstrated exceptional care, promptly responding to my email, and arranging a plan of activities through an old job colleague of mine, now a Ph.D. student of Prof. Walter (MSc. Delgado).
Once in HPL with Prof. Darren, we discussed eccentric control during running in patients recovering from Achilles tendon rupture, utilizing Machine Learning and Deep Learning techniques for kinematics pattern tracking and recognition—a manuscript as part of my Ph.D. and related to this grant. It was a great time there. Prof. Darren's insightful comments on data analysis and visualization were invaluable. It was a perfect learning experience, witnessing how swiftly he identified gaps and provided scientific solutions.
Under Prof. Darren's mentorship, he connected me with other outstanding people like Dr. Jared Fletcher and Prof. Brent Edwards. In the first case, I had the opportunity to know Mount Royal University, sharing thoughts about tendon biomechanics, and learning about their strategies to create a biomechanics Lab with existing technology, blending excellent research questions with limited equipment and advanced knowledge of computational vision. Back in the HPL with Prof. Edwards, engaging discussions on microstructure and bone geometry from in vitro experiments opened doors to exploring the relationship between porosity, the active phase of vertical ground reaction force during running, and stress injuries. We discussed Impact vs Active phase of vGRF and how increased strain and porosity suggest mechanical determinants. At this moment, I shared thoughts about graph theories and stress field clustering, and I could see some posters showing how bone geometry determines the stress field using the Eigen-problem, a very elegant solution. I also had the privilege of interacting with brilliant young students like MSc. Andrew Koshyk, who excels in engineering microstructure modeling. Prof. Brent's entire team allowed me to attend open Lab activities oriented for high-school students. Other beautiful experiences were witnessing for the first time a muscle fiber contraction experiment, in vitro devices at HPL, running experiments with different shoes, and observing animal models of obesity and metabolic syndrome tissue harvesting.
The International Affiliate Development Grant from ISB remains an immeasurable experience for overseas students from non-developed countries, who face diverse difficulties and fears but also possess many strengths. For now, I can better align myself with my economic conditions and academic priorities. This visit helped me believe in my next academic steps with a better understanding of how things work and are required overseas. All of this was a tremendous experience. Therefore, I want to thank ISB for the opportunity to attend overseas.
Back to Table of Contents
ISB World Athletics Award for Biomechanics
The ISB World Athletics Award for Biomechanics is presented annually at the ISB and ISBS Congresses during the year in which it is awarded.
For the year 2024, the award's theme is focused on throwing-related research. The recipient of the award will present their work at ISBS in Salzburg, scheduled for July 2024.
The winning paper will be published as the ISB World Athletics Award for Biomechanics paper in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics, subject to the normal peer review process. The first author of the winning paper will be honoured with a certificate and a monetary award of $5000 USD.
Applications for the award will be invited alongside the call for papers for the 2024 ISBS Congress, the details of which are yet to be confirmed.
Back to Table of Contents
National Biomechanics Day in 2024
Dr. Paul de Vita has a message for us.
Dear Friends of National Biomechanics Day (i.e. everyone),
We are tremendously grateful for your support and participation in NBD these past eight years. We remain the longest running, international, synchronized celebration of biomechanics and we hope for even greater success in 2024. We have introduced biomechanics to over 40,000 young people since 2016 as our contribution to making biomechanics the breakthrough science of the 21st century.
Wait! Did we hear someone say, I want to join NBD 2024 but I’d like to see some video evidence that NBDs are truly wonderful events? Well, NBD 2023 at Old Dominion University in the U.S., at Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K., and at Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil certainly had super-cool NBDS! Oh, not enough you say and is there an NBD parable we can watch to see if NBD has a moral to the story? Certainly! We have advance to the point of having our own NBD Parable!!! Now, how many sciences and scientific outreach events can say that?!?
Now that you are excited about NBD celebrations, please register with us at NBD 2024 Registration. We ask all of the lab people helping to create your NBD experience (e.g. faculty, staff and students) to register. Invite high schoolers to your lab, show them cool biomechanics science, and enjoy the day with your staff, students and visitors. Also, please know that NBDs can be live, virtual and any hybrid combination.
Please also apply for one of our grant programs for NBD2024 as we continue increasing diversity and equity in our field. Grants will provide funds for your NBD events and also for registration and travel costs to various biomechanics conferences. We have distributed ~$50,000 for this purpose the past three years. We also provide practical and philosophical support and guidance for creating a successful event.
NBD 2024 will be fun, exciting, and enjoyable STEM & STEAM science-outreach for everyone. In fact, our theme has always been, Science Meets Fun on National Biomechanics Day. We enthusiastically invite you to participate in NBD 2024 on or around April 3, 2024**. We are ever so grateful for your interest and participation in National Biomechanics Day.
Thank you,
Paul DeVita, Ph.D.
Founder and Director, National Biomechanics Day
**While April 3th is our target date, feel free to hold your event on any other date that works best for you.
Back to Table of Contents
Biomechanics updates from the ISB South America representative
South America representative: Felipe Carpes (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
In this edition of the ISB Now we would like to share some news from ISB community in Latin America.
Brazilian rehabilitation institution receives equipment donation from Gillette Children’ Hospital in 2023
Associação Mineira de Reabilitação (AMR) from Brazil receives a donation from Gillette Children's Hospital
In March 2023, the Associação Mineira de Reabilitação (AMR, Minas Gerais Rehabilitation Association) initiated three-dimensional gait assessments in its Motion Analysis Laboratory (LAM-AMR), located in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. The non-profit organization provides free neuromotor rehabilitation services and social inclusion activities for children and adolescents with physical disabilities and social vulnerability residing in the capital and the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte. The assessments have contributed to interdisciplinary rehabilitation, orthosis creation, and the performance of surgical procedures that collectively aid in the functionality and quality of life of the served population. Additionally, as a form of financial sustainability, in November of the same year, the institution also opened the laboratory doors for private examinations.
This innovative reality was made possible thanks to the donation of 12 Vicon cameras by the Gillette Children's Hospital, a non-profit hospital located in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Doctor and researcher Tom Novacheck facilitated the donation and in August 2023 he was able to visit LAM-AMR and closely observe the institution's work. This partnership goes beyond the donation; the laboratory professionals are always available to answer questions and discuss clinical cases. With the cameras in hand, the remaining items were acquired, and the installation was completed in partnership with DVG Grupo, through direct financial support and national tax credits under the Sports Incentive Law from the state of Minas Gerais.
Thus, with these partnerships and achievements, AMR charts its next steps based on a future of innovation associated with inclusion, diversity, and equity to continue its mission of rehabilitating and transforming lives!
You can learn more about the LAM-AMR by visiting the institution’s website:
This donation was not mediated by ISB but considering the relevance of this action and the involvement of ISB members and Brazilian Society of Biomechanics members with the Brazilian institution, the Minas Gerais Rehabilitation Association is happy to share this news with the ISB community. We hope this news can serve as a motivation to other similar initiatives around the world.
Conferences in South America in 2024
It seems that Latin America will be a good destination for travelling in 2024! Check below two conferences that we would like to highlight in this issue of ISB Now.
18th International Symposium of 3DAHM
Welcome to the World summit of 3D Movement Analysis! The 18th International Symposium of 3DAHM will take place in Montevideo, Uruguay from Dec 3rd to 6th (https://3dahm2024.com/). Prof. Franco Simini, the conference chairperson, invites colleagues who are interested in contributing to the scientific committee of the event. If you are interested in contributing, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. expressing your interest and attach a short version of your resume.
It will be the first time that the ISB’s 3D motion analysis technical group will have a symposium in Latin America and the south America community is expected to effectively support the event, also submitting papers when the call for papers is published.
Learn more about the event visiting: https://3dahm2024.com/
Brazilian Meeting of Biomechanical Engineering 2024 - ENEBI
ENEBI is around the corner.
The 8th Brazilian Biomechanical Engineering Meeting (VIII Encontro Nacional de Engenharia Biomecânica) will take place in Gramado-RS, Brazil from June 3rd to 6th. The congress will address multidisciplinary topics in Biomechanical Engineering. We believe that this event has the potential to make a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge and the strengthening of collaboration networks among professionals in the field.
The Brazilian Biomechanical Engineering Meeting (ENEBI), promoted by the Brazilian Association of Mechanical Engineering and Sciences (ABCM), is an important conference in South America because it brings together professionals, academics, and industry representatives from various fields related to Biomechanics. This event is intended to integrate graduate and undergraduate researchers who work at the interface between Engineering and Health Sciences (Medicine, Dentistry, Medical Physics, Physical Education, Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, Veterinary Medicine, Physiotherapy, and others).
The congress highlights the presence of prof. Walter Herzog as a keynote speaker.
Congress Chairperson: Prof. Jakson Manfredini Vassoler
Contact e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Event Website: https://eventos.abcm.org.br/enebi2024/en/
Costa Rica as a possible Destination for the next Latin America Meeting of Biomechanics
Since 2017, an international consortium of biomechanics enthusiasts from various Latin American nations has been collaboratively working towards establishing a robust network for biomechanics in the region. Their shared commitment is not only to foster a cross-border exchange of opportunities but also to fortify the discipline of biomechanics throughout the continent. Having successfully organized three Latin American Biomechanics Meetings within the framework of regional congresses, the Latin American biomechanics community is now eagerly anticipating their next gathering in the beautiful setting of Costa Rica. The decision to host this edition of the meeting in Costa Rica underscores the passionate dedication of Alberto Sanchez, an active ISB member, to advance the field of biomechanics within Latin America.
While the event is currently in its preparatory stages, details regarding the program and dates will be made available shortly. In the meantime, the organizing committee is actively engaging with potential sponsors who may wish to align their brand with this conference, contributing to the continued growth of biomechanics in Latin America.
For additional information about this exciting event, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Alberto Sanchez at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or reach out to the ISB South America representative.
A brief report of European students completing research visiting period in Brazil.
Below a report from Niclas Masuch, Jesus Navarro, Melanie Strohbach, and Nils Ole Grunow. A group comprising two Master's students and two PhD candidates from Chemnitz University of Technology (TUC) (Chemnitz, Germany). These students visited the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa) in the very south of Brazil. This exchange will not have happened without the collaboration that was initiated when the Brazilian student Milena dos Santos spent around 2 months at TUC in 2022 in a research exchange with the support of ISB (Travel Grant).
“In the context of a project generously supported by both DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel), a collaborative effort led by Prof. Felipe Carpes, at the Federal University of Pampa (Unipampa) (Uruguaiana, Brazil), and Prof. Andresa Germano, at TUC, provided us with the invaluable opportunity to embark on a four-week visit to the Unipampa in September 2023.
Melanie and Nils Ole are on the verge of completing their Master's degrees in Human Movement and Exercise Sciences, specializing in Prevention and Rehabilitation. Meanwhile, Jesus and Niclas have recently embarked on their doctoral journeys in the field of Human Movement Science. Except for Melanie, all of us have had prior international research experiences. Jesus and Niclas have previously conducted research in Canada, while Ole completed a semester abroad in Sweden. Nonetheless, our enthusiasm for the chance to visit the Unipampa and Brazil was unanimously high.
During our stay at the lab, we actively participated in pilot studies that delved into various aspects, including effects of foot-warming on balance, markerless motion capture, futsal intervention, and the acquisition of skills to utilize models for kinematics assessments. As active subjects in these trials, we gained valuable insights into the methodologies employed by our Brazilian counterparts when encountering challenges in pilot testing. Moreover, we engaged in in-depth discussions, exchanging diverse perspectives and sharing our expertise to foster a collaborative learning environment.
Working with the kinematics models, we gained hands-on experience in marker placement and the analysis of joint angles across various gait and balance scenarios. Additionally, we undertook the validation of an AI-based markerless motion analysis system in conjunction with VICON technology, which holds promise as a more cost-effective and time-efficient alternative to conventional motion capture methods, potentially finding applications in clinical settings. We are grateful for the chance to work with this innovative measurement technology.
Beyond our initial pilot testing, our time spent collaborating with the students in the office was enriching, as we were working alongside exceptionally motivated students who displayed remarkable dedication in the laboratory. Outside the university, the students generously took us by the hand in order to let us immerse ourselves in the vibrant Brazilian culture. To those contemplating similar experiences, our recommendation is to remain open to embracing the local culture, interacting with the people, and wholeheartedly exploring new opportunities.
We, from MCN Group, extend our gratitude to Prof. Felipe Carpes and his Group (GNAP) for their warm reception. May this report serve as an inspiration for fellow students and researchers to consider visiting universities in developing countries, fostering mutual learning and collaboration.”
Back to Table of Contents
The ISB Executive Council is currently accepting bids to host the 2027 Congress.
The ISB Executive Council is currently accepting bids to host the 2027 Congress. The Executive Council of the ISB is responsible for selecting the site for the biennial International Congress of the Society and for offering guidance and assistance to the Organizing Committee.
Interested prospective organizers are encouraged to contact Felipe Carpes (President-Elect) via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for guidance on bidding guidelines and additional information.
The ISB looks forward to partnering with a dedicated host to create a high-quality and impactful XXXI Congress that advances the field of biomechanics and fosters collaboration among global experts.
Back to Table of Contents
