Innovative Investigation Methods of Human Gait

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editors

Alex P. Moorhead

Politecnico di Milano, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Alex P. Moorhead earned his B.S. in Exercise Science from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs in 2013. He then earned his M.S. in Biomechanics from the same university in 2015. During which time, Dr. Moorhead researched the effect of rider anthropometrics, posture, and bicycle geometry on pitch-over phenomena while also working at the Sports Medicine Clinic at the United States Olympic Training Center. He then moved to Milan to earn his PhD in Integrated Biomedical Research from the University of Milan within the Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation in the laboratory of Physiomechanics of Locomotion. Since completing his doctorate, he has been working as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Polytechnic University of Milan in the Department of Mechanical Engineering where he leads masters and PhD students in gait studies of subjects exposed to whole-body vibration.

Jorge Lopes Storniolo

University of Milan, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation

Dr. Jorge Lopes Storniolo is a Researcher in the Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation at the University of Milan (Milan, ITA). Previously, Dr. Storniolo obtained his PhD in Integrated Biomedical Research from the same institution in 2018 within the lab of Physiomechanics of Locomotion. At the University of Milan, Dr. Storniolo heads the Laboratory of the Neurophysiology of Vegetative System and Exercise, conducting projects involving physiologic variables applying to gait technologies. His projects have assisted researchers, trainers, and physicians to find new results for their public through new training protocols and practical tests. In this way, the background in biomechanics and bioenergetics of human locomotion enabled him to develop innovative tools for gait evaluation.

Collection Overview

Human gait has been a highly investigated topic for centuries. The constant desire for increased knowledge regarding the complex systems which drive and sustain gait has propelled the reciprocal growth of study intricacy and technological capacity. Modern technology now allows researchers to precisely and accurately measure the mechanical work performed by the human body during locomotion, the coordinated neurological signals sent to and received by the muscles in action, and the physiological energy required to perform all such processes. In many instances, there are multiple different measurement systems and protocols which can be utilized according to the specific need of the investigation. While it is essential to establish the most fundamental uses of these systems, it is also important to recognize the methods which have been innovatively adapted for use in less common scenarios such as that of sport, modified gravity, extreme environments, pathological gait, and more. In this Methods Collection, we aim to exhibit not only the numerous materials and methods for evaluating common human gait, but also the novel ways in which they have been tailored to study atypical gaits or environments.