TENDON TAPPING STIMULUS CHARACTERIZATION THROUGH CONTACT MODELING

摘要

Tendon tapping is a common procedure with both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Significant variability is observed in the reflex response both between and within even healthy subjects, which is likely partially caused by imprecise control or measurement of the mechanical stimulus. Reducing or measuring stimulus variability is critical to future novel applications of tendon tapping for rehabilitative neuromodulation. This work presents a contact mechanics based method for characterization of tendon mechanical stimulus. This work utilizes easily observable dynamic information about hammer impacts to estimate the properties of impacted tissue.