An Open-Source Toolbox for Surrogate Modeling of Joint Contact Mechanics

Incorporation of elastic joint contact models into simulations of human movement could facilitate studying the interactions between muscles, ligaments, and bones. Unfortunately, elastic joint contact models are often too expensive computationally to be used within iterative simulation frameworks. This limitation can be overcome by using fast and accurate surrogate contact models that fit or interpolate input-output data sampled from existing elastic contact models. However, construction of surrogate contact models remains an arduous task. The aim of this paper is to introduce an open-source program called Surrogate Contact Modeling Toolbox (SCMT) that facilitates surrogate contact model creation, evaluation, and use.

SCMT interacts with the third-party software FEBio to perform elastic contact analyses of finite-element models and uses MATLAB to train neural networks that fit the input-output contact data. SCMT features sample point generation for multiple domains, automated sampling, sample point filtering, and surrogate model training and testing.

An overview of the software is presented along with two example applications. The first example demonstrates creation of surrogate contact models of artificial tibiofemoral and patellofemoral joints and evaluates their computational speed and accuracy, while the second demonstrates the use of surrogate contact models in a forward dynamic simulation of an open-chain leg extension-flexion motion.

SCMT facilitates the creation of computationally fast and accurate surrogate contact models. Additionally, it serves as a bridge between FEBio and OpenSim musculoskeletal modeling software.

Researchers may now create and deploy surrogate models of elastic joint contact with minimal effort.