Red and swollen limbs that feel hot or cold, a numb feeling, lack of mobility, and worst of all, pain. These are symptoms of post-traumatic dystrophy (PD). Researchers from various disciplines are working together in the TREND research consortium to open the 'black box' of this mysterious disorder. Mechanical engineers at TU Delft are using mechanical perturbation systems to determine the neurological causes of the disorder. They have developed three test rigs that can be used to find out what is wrong with the central nervous system of individual PD patients. In collaboration with American neurologist, David Bashor, the Delft researchers have been the first to link a Biological Neural Network model with 2300 neurons to a musculoskeletal model. They managed to simulate the motor symptoms of the PD patients by blocking a specific connection between two types of neurons in the model. Together with medical researchers from five teaching hospitals they are now looking for the underlying cause of the disorder that will explain other symptoms such as pain, skin ailments, and gastro-intestinal complaints.
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