Method and system for analyzing behavior of whole human body by simulation using whole human body

A computer readable medium including instructions configured to cause a computing device to implement a computerized method for producing a human body model by simulating an object of a whole or a part of a human body on a computer including a processing unit and a storage, based on data entered by a user for a plurality of individual segments of the human body, and for storing data indicative of the produced human body model in the storage, wherein

• the object includes a complex of an Achilles tendon of the human body and a triceps surae extending from the Achilles tendon, the Achilles tendon being connected at one of its both ends with the triceps surae,
• the Achilles tendon is connected, at a first end of the Achilles tendon which is opposite to a second end of the Achilles tendon at which the Achilles tendon is connected with the triceps surae, with a calcaneus of the human body,
• the triceps surae is connected, at a first end of the triceps surae which is opposite to a second end of the triceps surae at which the triceps surae is connected with the Achilles tendon, with a femur of the human body, and
• the triceps surae is connected at its middle with a tibia of the human body,
• the computerized method comprising the steps of:
• (a) simulating the complex via elements including a bendable and stretchable bar element having a length but not having a thickness, such that the bar element has two end attaching points at which the bar element is attached at its both ends to models of the calcaneus and the femur, and such that the bar element has a middle attaching point at which the bar element is attached at its middle to a model of the tibia;
• (b) simulating a joining mechanism for joining the bar element at the middle attaching point with the model of the tibia, such that the joining mechanism is represented via a combination of a first sub-model representative of a pulley fixed to the model of the tibia with the pulley having a predetermined resistance to rotation, and a second sub-model representative of the bar element in the a form of a rope which is wound around the pulley for changing a direction in which a force is transmitted, such that a path of the bar element extends along the mode model of the tibia, even when a joint located between the femur and the tibia is bent, and that transmission of a force between the bar element and the model of the tibia is achieved via the model of the pulley, so as to inhibit a separation of the bar element from the model of the tibia;
• (c) predicting a physical response of the human body to an application of an actual external force by analyzing a response of the human body model to an application of a simulated external force to the human body model;
• and
• (d) outputting a result from said predicting step (c).

A computerized method for producing a human body model including simulating an object of a whole or a part of a human body on a computer having a processing unit and a storage, based on data entered by a user for a plurality of individual segments of the human body, and for storing data indicative of the produced human body model in the storage,

• the object including a muscle joining two bones of the human body in a bendable and stretchable manner and extending over a joint of the two bones, in the presence or absence of an intermediate bone located between the two bones,
• the muscle being attached at its both ends to the two bones, and being attached at its middle portion to a subject bone which is selected as one of the two bones in the absence of the intermediate bone, or as the intermediate bone in the presence of the intermediate bone,
• the computerized method comprising:
• (a) simulating the muscle, the two bones, and the subject bone, to create models of the muscle, the two bones, and the subject bone for said human body model;
• (b) predicting a physical response of the human body to an application of an actual external force by analyzing a response of the human body model to an application of a simulated external force to the produced human body model, and
• (c) outputting a result from said predicting step (b),
• wherein the simulating step (a) includes
• (i) simulating the muscle as a bendable and stretchable bar element having a length but not having a thickness, so as to represent that the bar element causes a reaction force upon application of said simulated external force, in a longitudinal direction of the bar element, irrespective of whether the bar element is in an expanded state or a contracted state,
• (ii) simulating a path of the bar element, so as to represent that the path extends straight along the model of the subject bone, irrespective of variations of an angle between the two bones, and
• (iii) simulating joining mechanisms for joining the bar element, the models of the two bones, and the model of the subject bone with one another,
• the computerized method further comprising:
• simulating the object by partitioning the object into a plurality of elements, wherein
• the plurality of elements are categorized in type into a plurality of one-dimensional elements each not having a thickness but having a length, a plurality of two-dimensional elements each not having a thickness but having an area and a shape, and a plurality of three-dimensional elements each having a volume and a shape,
• the plurality of two-dimensional elements are categorized into a plurality of shell elements each permitting a tensile response and a compressive response to occur in a direction along each shell element, and a plurality of membrane elements each permitting a tensile response and not permitting a compressive response to occur in a direction along each membrane element,
• the plurality of individual segments including a ligament, a tendon, or a muscle, of the human body, and
• the step of simulating the object by partitioning includes:
• simulating a first sub-plurality of the plurality of individual segments each of which is moved relative to another segment of the object while forming an area of contact with the another segment, by partitioning the first sub-plurality of individual segments into the plurality of membrane elements, while simulating a second sub-plurality of the plurality of individual segments not forming an area of contact with another segment of the object or a movement relative to another segment of the object, by partitioning the second sub-plurality of individual segments into the plurality of one-dimensional elements.