Applied Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory

Mission

The mission of The University of Mississippi’s Applied Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory (ABEL) is to develop and sustain a multi-disciplinary academic and research agenda in the area of human movement.  It is the goal of the laboratory to discover, disseminate, and use existing knowledge of the biomechanics of human movement to serve the students and faculty of Ole Miss, the local community, and the scientific community worldwide.

Overview

The Applied Biomechanics and Ergonomics Laboratory is a 1700 square-foot dedicated laboratory space.  The laboratory includes a 1000 square-foot walking surface with a  linear walking track (15.5m x 2.5m) embedded with two (2) AMTI OR-6 force places (Advanced Mechanical Technology, Watertown, MA) which are integrated into a six (6) camera optical Vicon Motion Analysis System (Vicon, Oxford, UK), which is further integrated with a Noraxon sixteen (16) Channel Telemetry EMG collection system.

Further, ABEL is home to a NeuroCom EquiTest System (NeuroCom International, Clackamas, OR),  two (2) Power Plate Pro5 AirAdaptive vibration platforms (Power Plate North America, Irvine, CA), a second sixteen (16) Channel Noraxon TeleMyo Telemetry System with SEMG, accelerometer, goniometer and Foot Switch/Sole components.

ABEL also has 3 Dartfish Motion Analysis Software (Dartfish, Fribourg, Switzerland) systems for use in 2-D and athletic motion analysis situations and is also equipped with many of the standard tools necessary for biomechanical and physiological experimentation.  These include: anthropometric rules and calipers, goniometric instrumentation, photometric equipment, and measuring devices for force (uniaxial up to 2000N and triaxial up to 1500N) and torque.  The laboratory also has an office connected for graduate assistant use.

Research and Professional Activities

Our research focuses on the performance enhancement and injury prevention in both the workplace and in sport.  Focusing on the approach that a healthy individual will perform better, his research focus is to maximize the ability and performance of the individual, decreasing the prevalence of injury and deleterious workplace environments for employers.

Tour

Click here to  see pictures of our laboratory in action.

Contact

To learn more about research in the Applied Biomechanics and Ergonomics, e-mail HESRM@olemiss.edu.