Body
A fundamental challenge in physical medicine and rehabilitation has long been measuring muscle force and stiffness, yet there are no rigorous methods for doing so noninvasively. Ultrasound elastography is a promising tool but it remains unclear precisely what this tool measures when applied to muscle. The objectives of this
project are to determine how elastography is sensitive to changes in muscle force and stiffness during conditions encountered in everyday activities, and to test a novel approach for uniquely determining these two important quantities from ultrasound measurements.