Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Laboratory

 

GE Medical Donates Extremity MRI Scanner

Assistant Professor Walter Block and Assistant Scientist Mary Sesto are two of the people who will benefit from the MRI gift. (20K JPG)

eneral Electric Medical Systems has generously donated an Artoscan 0.3T extremity magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to the BME department. The scanner has already been installed in the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab and is being used in BME courses as well as for research.

The MRI scanner offers a unique opportunity for students not only to study MR imaging, but actually do it, says Michael Harsh, global engineering general manager at GE Medical Systems. “You can read about it in textbooks; you can understand the technology,” he says. “But if you want a really good intuitive feel for how it works and understand what it takes to do MR imaging, the best thing you can do is have something available in the lab to really try these things out on.”

The department is very grateful for the donation, says Professor and Chair Rob Radwin. “The scanner will be dedicated to biomedical engineering education and research and will be accessible to students and researchers, free from scheduling conflicts with clinics or medical services,” he says.

Assistant Professor Walter Block is using the MRI for his research and course. “We can dedicate the Artoscan completely to imaging the musculoskeletal system as it adjusts to stresses found in many work environments,” he says. “The machine is a powerful educational tool in my class on the systems engineering aspects of diagnostic imaging equipment.”

In addition, it is an example of the synergy between the department and GE Medical Systems, which employs many UW-Madison engineering graduates. “The research developed and students trained with the assistance of this gift will continue to build upon the successful partnership we have with GE,” he says.

Harsh agrees. “It’s in everyone’s best interest,” he says. “The graduates who go through those programs will know more about MR technology.”

Professor Rob Radwin is leading a research effort with Assistant Professor Walter Block, Associate Professor Tom Best and Assistant Scientist Mary Sesto to investigate the physiological, anatomical and biomechanical properties of muscles and tendons involved in repetitive manual work. The research is supported in part by a three-year R01 grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and by the MRI scanner GE Medical Systems recently donated to the department.

One aspect of the group’s research includes studying how equipment and power tools used in manufacturing plants act on workers’ hands and arms. “Not only do people have to produce forces to use these tools, but the tools produce rapidly building forces as well,” says Radwin. “The tool operator has to respond by contracting their muscles to prevent losing control. Sometimes the tools are stronger than the operator, thereby stretching the muscles.”

Recent studies show these muscle-lengthening contractions, called eccentric exertions, might be harmful to muscles. In controlled experiments, the researchers expose volunteers to eccentric exertions, and using both mechanical means and MRI, measure changes in the muscles and tendons.

The group already has found that even short-term repeated exertions of this type result in muscle mechanics and MRI changes in the lab. The researchers hope their results will show how exertions in the workplace are involved in work-related disorders and ultimately, how to prevent injuries.