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Biomedical subjects

J L Van Leeuwen

Publications and source records attributed to J L Van Leeuwen.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The multifractal structure of arterial trees.

Fractal properties of arterial trees are analysed using the cascade model of turbulence theory. It is shown that the branching process leads to a non-uniform structure at the micro-level meaning that blood supply to the tissue varies in space. From the model it is concluded that, depending on the branching parameter, vessels of a specific size contribute dominantly to the blood supply of tissue. The corresponding tissue elements form a dense set in the tissue. Furthermore, if blood flow in vessels can get obstructed with some probability, the above set of tissue elements may not be dense anymore. Then there is the risk that, spread out over the tissue, nutrient and gas exchange fall short.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Modelling the biomechanics and control of sphincters.

This paper reviews current mathematical models of sphincters and compares them with a new spatial neuromuscular control model based on known physiological properties. Almost all the sphincter models reviewed were constructed as a component of a more extensive model designed to mirror the overall behaviour of a larger system such as the lower urinary tract. This implied less detailed modelling of the sphincter component. It is concluded that current sphincter models are not suitable for mimicking detailed interactions between a neural controller and a sphincter. We therefore outline a new integrated model of the biomechanics and neural control of a sphincter. The muscle is represented as a lumped-mass model, providing the possibility of applying two- or three-dimensional modelling strategies. The neural network is a multi-compartment model that provides neural control signals at the level of action potentials. The integrated model was used to simulate a uniformly activated sphincter and a partially deficient innervation of the sphincter, resulting in a non-uniformly activated sphincter muscle. During the simulation, the pressure in the sphincter lumen was prescribed to increase sinusoidally to a value of 60 kPa. In the uniformly activated situation, the sphincter muscle remains closed, whereas the partially denervated sphincter is stretched open, although the muscle is intact.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Optimum take-off techniques and muscle design for long jump.

A two-segment model based on Alexander (1990; Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 329, 3-10) was used to investigate the action of knee extensor muscles during long jumps. A more realistic representation of the muscle and tendon properties than implemented previously was necessary to demonstrate the advantages of eccentric force enhancement and non-linear tendon properties. During the take-off phase of the long jump, highly stretched leg extensor muscles are able to generate the required vertical momentum. Thereby, serially arranged elastic structures may increase the duration of muscle lengthening and dissipative operation, resulting in an enhanced force generation of the muscle-tendon complex. To obtain maximum performance, athletes run at maximum speed and have a net loss in mechanical energy during the take-off phase. The positive work done by the concentrically operating muscle is clearly less than the work done by the surrounding system on the muscle during the eccentric phase. Jumping performance was insensitive to changes in tendon compliance and muscle speed, but was greatly influenced by muscle strength and eccentric force enhancement. In agreement with a variety of experimental jumping performances, the optimal jumping technique (angle of attack) was insensitive to the approach speed and to muscle properties (muscle mass, the ratio of muscle fibre to tendon cross-sectional area, relative length of fibres and tendon). The muscle properties also restrict the predicted range of the angle of the velocity vector at take-off.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗
PubMed1999

A mechanical analysis of myomere shape in fish.

An architectural analysis is offered of the trunk muscles in fish, which are arranged in a longitudinal series of geometrically complex myomeres. The myomeres are separated by myosepta, collagenous sheets with complex fibre patterns. The muscle fibres in the myomeres are also arranged in complex three-dimensional patterns. Previously, it has been proposed that the muscle fibre arrangement allows for a uniform strain distribution within the muscle. Physical constraints limit the range of shapes that fibre-reinforced materials such as muscles can adopt, irrespective of their genetic profile. The three-dimensional shapes of myosepta are predicted by mechanical modelling from the requirements for mechanical stability and prescribed muscle fibre arrangements. The model can also be used to study the force transmission and likely locations of ligaments and bones in the myosepta. The model shows that the dorsal and ventral fins are located such that unfavourable mechanical interactions with the trunk muscles are avoided. In bony fish, extensive muscular deformations (notably in the region of the horizontal septum) that would not contribute to bending are avoided by the mechanical support of the skin, intramuscular bones and ribs. In sharks, the skin plays a more prominent role in avoiding such deformations because of the absence of bony elements.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Modelling the pressure and force equilibrium in unipennate muscles with in-line tendons.

Several of the models proposed in the literature of unipennate muscles, which have two tendinous sheets and in-line tendons, cannot meet the criterion of mechanical stability. Based on the theory of Van Leeuwen & Spoor (Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 336, 275-292 (1992)), we discuss how mechanically stable solutions for (planar) unipennate architectures could be obtained. A mathematical model is proposed in which the muscle architecture is generated numerically using the principles of mechanical stability and assuming that all muscle fibres shorten by the same relative amount. The tendinous sheets are attached tangentially to their respective tendons, as predicted from their low bending stiffness. The curvature, however, is discontinuous at the junction because of the sudden absence of muscle fibres from aponeurosis to tendon. In two of the muscle shapes generated, the sheets adjacent to the tendon show a region of negative curvature connected to a region of positive curvature. A sheet with a concave outer side is defined to have a negative curvature. In another example, two negative curvature regions are present with a positive region in-between. We show also a generated shape with a negative curvature of the sheets over their whole length. A good resemblance was found between the unipennate medial gastrocnemius muscle of the cat and a simulated architecture. The pressure distribution has also been calculated. With all muscle fibres exerting the same tensile stress of 200 kPa, a high pressure region is present in the centre of the muscle belly, half-way along its length. The highest pressures are predicted for muscles with long tendinous sheets, large attachment angles, and strongly curved fibres. Maximum pressures (2.40, 9.54, 10.47, and 7.57 kPa for the four discussed examples, and 15.05 kPa for the simulated gastrocnemius muscle) were at the lower side of the range as predicted previously for bipennate muscles and the unipennate medial gastrocnemius muscle of man (Van Leeuwen & Spoor 1992).

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Modelling mechanically stable muscle architectures.

This paper presents a planar architectural model for an activated skeletal muscle, with mechanical equilibrium throughout the muscle belly. The model can predict the shape of the muscle fibres and tendinous sheets as well as the internal pressure distribution in the central longitudinal plane (perpendicular to the tendinous sheets) of uni- and bipennate muscle bellies. Mechanically stable solutions for muscle architectures were calculated by equating the pressure developed by curved muscle fibres with the pressure under a curved tendinous sheet. The pressure distribution under a tendinous sheet is determined by its tension, its curvature and the tensile stress of the attached muscle fibres. Dissections showed a good resemblance of the architecture of embalmed muscles with those from our simulations. Calculated maximum pressures are in the same order of magnitude as pressure measurements from the literature. Our model predicts that intramuscular blood flow can be blocked during sustained contraction, as several experimental studies have indeed demonstrated. The volume fractions of muscle fibres and interfibre space in the muscle belly were also calculated. The planar models predict a too low volume fraction for the muscle fibres (about 45% for the bipennate models with a straight central aponeurosis, and about 60% for the simulated unipennate muscle). It is discussed how, in a real muscle, this volume problem can be solved by a special three-dimensional arrangement of muscle fibres in combination with varying widths of the tendinous sheets.

Animals↗