VAN SINT JAN Serge

Units

Laboratory of Anatomy, Biomechanics and Organogenesis

Education - Our LABO teaches anatomy to students of various programs, including medicine, dental sciences, veterinary sciences, physical therapy, occupational therapy, bioengineering, sports, nursing, pharmacy, medical biology and arts. Moreover, LABO members also teach human embryology. Research - The LABO is active in several fields thanks to its multidisciplinary staff and expertise: Biomechanics, Anatomy, Organogenesis, Embryology, Veterinary Sciences and Legal Medicine. State-of-the-art equipment is available. Clinics - The Center for Functional Evaluation (or CFE) organised by LABO offers patients, and their therapists, all services for following-up of locomotor and gesture disabilities linked to a variety of disorders (orthopeadics, neurology, etc). Clinical research is also performed at LABO. Logistics - The LABO is taking part in the organisation of various structures and international scientific events.

ULB Interdisciplinary Research Institute for Sports

U-IRIS is intended to bring together research skills existing at ULB in the fields of sports and physical activity in order to stimulate collaboration and interdisciplinary research. The research carried out within U-IRIS could be the basis of evidence-based advice in various fields of sport and physical activity. ULB and each of U-IRIS partner groups, as well as their existing activities, platforms, infrastructures and collaborations, will gain in visibility, both internally and externally in a promising and rapidly evolving field.

The research carried out by U-IRIS is designed to be both fundamental and applied. It is developed around five major axes:
- clinics / sports medicine
- high level sports / performance
- rehabilitation / handicap and sports
- sports and society (including education through sports)
- prevention / public health / nutrition.

The groups participating in U-IRIS represent the Faculties of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Medicine, Psychology and Educational Sciences, Motor Sciences, the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, the School of Public Health, the Research Department, ULB-Sports and the Erasme Academic Hospital.

Projetcs

Biomechanics, modeling and functional assessment

The research themes of this joint team (LABO - LAF) include all anatomical, physiological, functional and biomechanical aspects of the musculoskeletal system. Projects are aimed both at improving knowledge of morphology and biomechanics, and at developing innovative methods of movement analysis and practical or clinical applications. This involves innovative approaches to multidimensional data collection and analysis (including the organization of complex experimental protocols, the construction of experimental set-ups, the adaptation and creation of hardware, and the development of algorithms and modeling methods).
The resources found within the LABO make it unique in its field as it is one of the only places in the world to bring together so many resources (motion analysis, medical imaging, body donation, etc.) with a multidisciplinary team that is well trained to deal with the various aspects required for this research.
Current projects:
- Evaluation and calculation of curvature profiles of the entire spine, as well as measurements of variations in thoracic geometry.
- Relating these curvature profiles to dynamic measurements of spinal mobility and observational assessments of spinal statics in standing and sitting positions.
- Measurement of sagittal balance using force (AMTI) and dynamic pressure (RsScan) platforms.
Analysis of spatio-temporal parameters and changes in center of pressure and plantar pressures during walking in healthy subjects and those suffering from low back pain.
- Validation of virtual reality methods for assessing mobility and proprioception of the cervical spine.
- Creation of specific musculoskeletal models, including the creation of lever arms in different body joints: hip, ankle, knee, shoulder and jaw.
- Development of original 'lhpFusionBox' data fusion software using computer graphics techniques. So-called “heterogeneous” data (analysis of movements using stereophotogrammetry, 3D reconstruction using medical imaging and hyperrealistic photogrammetry, manual and virtual palpation, digitization of dissections, etc.) can be integrated into the same spatio-temporal space to produce quantified data. This software is used for most of LABO's doctoral theses.

Functional Assessment Center

The aim of the Functional Evaluation Center is to provide a space for data collection, both for clinical activities (e.g., the establishment of objective functional assessments for patients suffering from orthopedic or neurological pathologies) and for a variety of research purposes.
The general research theme is linked to the development of quantified movement analysis (QMA) methods applied to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Past research has focused on the design and development of 6 ddl articulated mechanical systems (three-dimensional electrogoniometry), the design of new experimental protocols, and the creation of data processing and visualization software; all scientific tools that have been integrated into numerous European research projects. The expertise acquired in theoretical and applied kinematics has enabled us to tackle the development of biomechanical models applied to joint complexes such as the shoulder and foot. A new technique for digitizing anatomical markers by manual palpation has been developed at LABO.
It has made it possible to address the kinematics of the scapula, the spine, the temporomandibular joint and the foot, considered as a multi-segment complex. The reliability and reproducibility of the new models have been assessed in numerous post-graduate studies, international communications and publications. These reproducibility studies have enabled us to build up reference databases that are used in our clinical assessments, ensuring their quality and relevance. The research tools we have developed have been applied in clinical research to answer the questions of various health practitioners (doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists). The functional examination reports developed are not only integrated into the hospital's IT system, but are also provided to the patient in PDF format, along with videos enabling doctors to match the results (tables, graphs, conclusions) with these videos (see appendix for an example of a report). The methodologies developed are also used by the young researchers forming our team for their own research and doctorate.