Musculoskeletal Modeling in Simulink


MMS

Overview
MMS is a software for building computer models of the musculoskeletal systems in Simulink ( Mathworks Inc., USA ), using SIMM, a commercially available musculoskeletal modeling package developed originally at Stanford University in the 1980s.

SIMM with Dynamics Pipeline ( Musculographics Inc., USA ) and SD/Fast ( Symbolic Dynamics Inc., USA ) are software packages commonly used for graphic and dynamic simulation of movement in musculoskeletal systems.  Building dynamic models with SIMM requires substantial C programming, however, which limits its use.  We have developed MMS software to convert the SIMM musculoskeletal and kinetics models to Simulink blocks.  In addition, MMS removes SIMM's run-time constraints so that the resulting blocks can be used in simulations of closed-loop sensorimotor control systems.

MMS Features

  • MMS model runs under Simulink where many other utilities are available for data analysis, presentation, control and optimization.
  • MMS eliminates the need for writing any user C code by automatically generating the necessary code for user forces and motion.
  • MMS eliminates restrictions on SIMM model properties such as muscle excitations, external forces and prescribed motions in SIMM and introduces more flexibility while making the model development easier.
  • MMS allows the user to change the initial condition of the system in each simulation run without recompilation.
  • MMS allows the user to use Non-SIMM muscle models in addition or in place of the default muscle models in SIMM.
  • MMS maintains 100% compatibility with SIMM so that the older models developed for SIMM can easily be converted to Simulink models.

System Requirements to Run MMS

  • Windows NT/98/2000/XP
  • SIMM 2.0 or 3.0 (Musculographics Inc., USA)
  • Dynamics Pipeline 2.0 (Musculographics Inc., USA)
  • SD/FAST B.2 (Symbolic Dynamics Inc., USA)
  • Matlab 6.0 with Simulink 4.0 (MathWorks Inc., USA)
  • Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 (Microsoft Corporation, USA)

Downloads
To download the MMS software files and documentation click here.

Questions/Comments
For questions or comments regarding the MMS software, please contact Rahman Davoodi (davoodi@usc.edu) or Gerald E. Loeb (gloeb@usc.edu).


Alfred Mann Institute University of Southern California