Download Guidlines for Preparation of the Final Project

Amit Gefen, M.Sc.
July 2000
0553.5336 Biomechanics
Guidelines for preparation of the final project
General Comments
All students are required to complete a written project on a topic of their choosing in
the area of biomechanics. All topics must be approved by the instructor. The project
should include a review of the literature of the subject and provide a complete
discussion and quantitative analysis (when appropriate) of the material. The written
report is due by the day of the final exam.
In-class presentations of the project material will take place during the last three
meetings of the course. The order of the presentations will be assigned randomly. The
duration of the oral presentations will be determined once the final size of the class is
known.
Students are highly encouraged to use overheads or a computer-based PowerPoint
presentation in support of their oral talk. Those electing to use PowerPoint must order
the appropriate equipment in advance and make sure that their presentation is
functional before the session of talks begins.
Paper
Survey the literature on a specific topic in the field of biomechanics. Describe the
current state-of-the-art and suggest areas that require further research. Then briefly
describe how you might try to investigate the problem yourself.
1
Amit Gefen, M.Sc.
July 2000
Topic
Some possible areas from which a specific topic might be chosen include:
Muscle models, joint models, spine models, analysis of bone adaptation and
remodeling, sports biomechanics (e.g., analysis of a joint during a sport), analysis of a
sports or an impact injury, human movement measurement techniques, analysis of gait
of elderly, biomechanics of the diabetic foot, electromyography, muscle fatigue,
biomechanical aspects of movement disorders (e.g. Parkinson’s disease), methods of
estimating muscle force, methods of estimating joint moments, constitutive properties
of muscle or tendon, design and biomechanical compatibility of artificial implants,
biomechanics of surgical joint replacements, etc.
Note: nearly all of these areas are too broad ! A specific topic from within these fields
must be chosen.
The manuscript should be technically well written (in English or Hebrew) and
organized. It should be well referenced using primary journal articles, i.e., not text
books. The following sources may be useful:
Journal title
can be found at
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
ESE
ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
ESE
Clinical Biomechanics
LSM
Gait & Posture
LSM
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
ESE
IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering
ESE
Journal of Applied Physiology
LSM
Journal of Biomechanics
ESE
Journal of Orthopedic Research
LSM
Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing
ESE
Medical Engineering & Physics
ESE
ESE = Library of Exact Sciences and Engineering at Tel Aviv University
LSM = Library of Life Sciences and Medicine at Tel Aviv University
2
Amit Gefen, M.Sc.
July 2000
Format
The paper should be written in the following form, where sections A-C are a
maximum of 12 double-spaced pages:
TITLE PAGE
ABSTRACT (max 150 words)
A. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND (~1-2 pages)
Briefly describe what you will be presenting and why it is important. Relate concisely
the anatomical, biological and clinical framework of your topic.
B. PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS (~7 pages)
Present a literature review of previous research on this topic. Do not simply list in
expanded form a number of references, but try to analyze and classify what has been
done. This section should be in a form such that the current "state-of-the-art" is easily
appreciated.
C. PROPOSED RESEARCH (~3-4 pages)
State what you think are the shortcomings in our current knowledge. Suggest areas
that require further research. From these topics, state concisely and specifically a
particular research problem that you propose to address. In broad terms, describe how
this might be done by experimental or computer simulation means. Point out the
difficulties that you may expect to encounter in this research. State what you believe
will be the significance of your proposed research.
REFERENCES
References and reference citations should conform to the style of the Journal of
Biomechanics. At least fifteen references are expected.
3