The Artificial Bicep
Students learn more about how muscles work and how biomedical engineers can help keep the muscular system healthy. Following the engineering design process, they create their own biomedical device to aid in the recovery of a strained bicep. They discover the importance of rest to muscle recovery and that muscles (just like engineers!) work together to achieve a common goal.
How do our muscles work?Copyright Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA http://ndeaa.jpl.nasa.gov/nasa-nde/nde-aa-l/clipping/Jet%20Propulsion%20Laboratory_files/arm-wrestling-540-357.jpg
To create devices that help the human body, engineers must first understand how the human body functions. With an understanding of how the muscular system functions, they design machines that aid in the muscle recovery of stroke victims, patients with muscular dystrophy, professional athletes, and anyone else with a muscular injury.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain how and why muscles work together in pairs.
- Explain why rest is important to muscle recovery.
- Explain why it is important for engineers to understand the human body and its muscular system.
- Describe the engineering design process.