Wies’ thesis focused on an important issue in biomechanics: current open-source musculoskeletal models are based on male bone geometry, despite known sex differences. This bias raises concerns about how accurately these models represent female biomechanics, a question that Judith Cueto Fernandez is further exploring in her PhD.

In her MSc thesis, Wies van de Meerakker investigated whether sex-based differences in pelvis and femur shape can predict variations in muscle volume distribution. Using MRI-based segmentation models and key anatomical landmarks, she developed new ways to analyze these differences.

Her work is a step toward more inclusive biomechanical models and a valuable contribution to our research on gender diversity in biomechanics.

During her project, Yoni developed a generic musculoskeletal model based on a female skeleton, addressing a long-standing gap in biomechanical modeling. Historically, many widely used musculoskeletal models have been based primarily on male anatomy, which can limit accuracy when analyzing female participant data.

Yoni systematically compared her newly developed female-based model to the existing male-based standard. Her work represents a significant step toward more inclusive and precise biomechanical analysis.

This will now support the next phase of research by our PhD candidate, Judith Cueto Fernandez, who will continue building on these findings.

In her work, Iris van Kan explored the intersection of medical imaging, anatomical dissection, and biomechanics. By directly comparing imaging data with dissected specimens, she investigated how tissue fixation influences muscle morphology. Her findings revealed important variability in post-fixation muscle swelling between different muscles, providing new insights into the reliability and interpretation of dissection-based muscle volume estimations in #biomechanics research.

In addition, Iris examined the potential of handheld 3D scanning technology to improve how muscle morphology and architecture are documented during dissection. Her work highlights how digital tools can enhance precision, reproducibility, and transparency in anatomical research.

The muscle force–length relationship is a fundamental parameter in musculoskeletal simulations. Although ex vivo studies indicate that meaningful demographic differences may exist, there is currently insufficient data to investigate these variations at scale.

In his MSc thesis, Tieme developed the first prototype of an experimental setup designed to measure this relationship across a larger and more diverse population—an essential step toward closing this data gap.

Research does not always unfold exactly as planned, but unexpected challenges often yield the most valuable lessons. Through this project, we gained critical insights into designing and optimizing the experimental pipeline for large-scale data collection, laying the groundwork for future studies.