BioE PhD Proposal Presentation- Autumn Routt

Advisors:

Dr. Lena Ting (Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University)

Dr. Gregory Sawicki (George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology) 

Committee Members:

Dr. Maegan Tucker (George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology)

Dr. Christian Hubicki (College of Engineering, Florida A&M University-Florida State University)

Dr. Kathryn Havens (Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California) 

Investigating the Role of Added Mass in Fall Risk During Pregnancy

Pregnant people fall at a similar rate as women over the age of 70. Falls are the second-most common cause of trauma-related hospitalizations in pregnancy. Despite their prevalence and danger, we do not yet have a clear understanding of why falls happen during pregnancy, which means we also do not know how to prevent them. This proposed thesis aims to isolate one potential cause of instability in pregnancy: added mass. This will be done through a combination of computational modelling, experimental data collection in non-pregnant participants with worn added mass, and experimental data collection in pregnant participants. Aim 1 will characterize the effects of adaptation to added mass during perturbed standing balance using a dynamics-based computational model of an inverted pendulum on a cart with adjustable added mass. Aim 2 will determine the effects of front-loaded added mass during perturbed standing balance in non-pregnant participants using support surface translations while recording motion capture, electromyography, and force plate data. Aim 3 will determine the neuromechanical effects of pregnancy on perturbed standing balance using the same support-surface translations and measurement tools. This thesis will be a step towards understanding what can be done to reduce the occurrence of falls in pregnant people.