
Sarah C MoudyAegis Aerospace
Sarah C Moudy
Doctor of Philosophy
Senior Scientist for Aegis Aerospace | NASA Neuroscience Lab
About
22
Publications
1,442
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Citations
Introduction
Dr. Moudy's research centers on determining injury risk factors based on gait deviations in individuals with lower-limb pathologies (e.g. amputation, osteoarthritis) and incorporating research into clinic settings for direct patient care impact. She is currently expanding her research into using wearable sensors and machine learning techniques for easy, cost-effective, and portable approaches to examine gait mechanics in clinical settings to aid physicians in diagnosis and treatment.
Publications
Publications (22)
The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefit of landmark registration when applied to waveform data. We compared the ability of data reduced from time-normalised and landmark registered vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) waveforms captured during maximal countermovement jumps (CMJ) of 53 active male subjects to predict jump height. v...
Individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations experience greater work demand and loading on the intact limb compared with the prosthetic limb, placing this limb at a greater risk of knee joint degenerative conditions. It is possible that increased loading on the intact side may occur due to strength deficits and joint absorption mechanics. Th...
New findings:
What is the central question of this study? The effects of long-term muscle disuse on neuromuscular function are unclear because disuse studies are typically short-term. This study used a novel model (unilateral transtibial amputees) to investigate the effects of long-term disuse on quadriceps neuromuscular function. What is the main...
Background:
When stepping down from a raised surface, either a toe or heel contact strategy is performed. Increased vertical momentum is likely to be experienced during a step descent, yet the extent to which these descent strategies influence the development of load at the ground and knee has not been examined.
Research question:
Does descent s...
Background
Decreased mechanical work done by the trailing limb when descending a single-step could affect load development and increase injury risk on the leading limb. This study assessed the effect of trailing limb mechanics on the development of lead limb load during a step descent by examining individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations...
Introduction
Bed rest can be used as a ground-based analog of the body unloading associated with spaceflight. In this study, we determined how strict head-down tilt bed rest affects subjects’ performance of functional tests (sit-to-stand, tandem walk, walk-and-turn, dynamic posturography) that challenge astronauts’ balance control systems immediate...
The perceptual and motor coordination problems experienced following return from spaceflight reflect the sensory adaptation to altered gravity. The purpose of this study was to develop a ground-based analog that replicates similar sensorimotor impairment using a standard measures test battery and subjective feedback from experienced crewmembers. Th...
In the early 1970s, nine astronauts participated in missions to the Skylab space station. During two preflight testing sessions at the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, the amplitudes of their ocular counter-rolling (OCR) during body tilts were assessed to determine if their vestibular functions were within normal ranges. We...
Introduction
Inertial measurement units (IMUs) may be viable options to collect gait data in clinics. This study compared IMU to motion capture data in individuals who use unilateral lower-limb prostheses.
Methods
Participants walked with lower-body IMUs and reflective markers in a motion analysis space. Sagittal plane hip, knee, and ankle wavefor...
Background:
No reviews or evidence-based clinical protocols exist to evaluate fall risk in older adults who use lower-limb prostheses, despite falls being prevalent and costly in this population. This scoping review sought to determine assessments, defined as clinical outcome measures and gait parameters, associated with fall risk in this populati...
Introduction
Individuals who use unilateral transtibial or transfemoral prostheses have negative secondary health effects associated with decreased kinematic (e.g., spatiotemporal and joint angle) walking symmetry between prosthetic and intact limbs. Research studies have quantified kinematic walking symmetry, but studies can be difficult to compar...
To properly assess the risk induced by vestibular and sensorimotor adaptation during exploration missions, we examined how long-duration stays on the International Space Station affect functional performance after gravity transitions. Mission-critical tasks that challenge the balance and the locomotion control systems were assessed: i.e., sit-to-st...
Individuals with a unilateral transtibial amputation (ITTA) often experience greater loading on the intact limb during running and stepping tasks compared to individuals without amputation. This study aimed to investigate the mechanics of load absorption in the intact limb of ITTA and determine if increased ground reaction forces (GRF) persist duri...
Parkinsons disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects motor abilities with increasing severity as the disease progresses. Traditional methods for diagnosing PD include a section where a trained specialist scores qualitative symptoms using the motor subscale of the Unified Parkinsons Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III). The aim of this fe...
Context
Sixty thousand people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) each year, making it the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. PD results in a variety of gait disturbances, including muscular rigidity and decreased range of motion (ROM), that increase the fall risk of those afflicted. Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) emph...
Background
Individuals with unilateral transtibial amputations (ITTAs) are asymmetrical in quadriceps strength. It is unknown if this is associated with gait performance characteristics such as walking speed and limb symmetry.
Research question
Are quadriceps strength asymmetries related to walking speed and/ or gait asymmetries in ITTAs?
Methods...
Understanding the mechanisms of instability can aid in reducing fall risk. As a sensitive measure of fall risk, the distance between the center of pressure (COP) and center of mass (COM) is currently assessed through discrete points assumed to represent physiological important fall mechanisms. However, it is unclear if these discrete points are app...
Step descent, similar to stepping off a kerb, is a commonly performed movement and requires a vertical translation of the centre of mass while continuing forward progression. When stepping down, the leading limb must absorb the impact of landing, which is greater than that experienced in level walking gait, and requires increased trailing limb rang...
Individuals with transtibial amputations (TTAs) experience an asymmetrical load during movement, where a greater load is experienced in the intact limb 1. Previous research assessing load on the intact limb compared to controls has not indicated differences. Limited research has assessed loading when stepping down when there is likely a greater loa...
Individuals with transtibial amputations, when performing a bilateral CMJ, exhibit reduced time for lower limb joint flexion like due to the limited range of motion in the prosthetic side. Lower-limb amputees experience asymmetrical vertical GRF where a greater peak force and rate of force development in the intact limb may lead to injury. A unilat...
Purpose:
Evidence suggests dietary nitrate supplementation enhances low-frequency (≤20 Hz) involuntary, but not voluntary, forces in unfatigued human muscle. We investigated the hypotheses that nitrate supplementation would also attenuate low-frequency fatigue and the loss of explosive voluntary forces in fatigued conditions.
Methods:
In a count...