• Period of stay: 23-27 March 2026 

Report

In March 2026, I attended the OpenSim+ Advanced Workshop at Stanford University, supported by the PhaNuSpo Travel Grant. The workshop was organized in collaboration with the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, FAIR Center, Restore Center, and Mobilize Center, and brought together leading researchers and developers in the field of musculoskeletal modeling using OpenSim.

A major benefit of this research stay was the direct exchange with OpenSim developers and experienced researchers. Through these interactions, I gained important insights into the design and execution of musculoskeletal simulation studies, including key considerations for model selection, parameterization, and handling of input data. Particular emphasis was placed on the validation of simulation results, highlighting the importance of critical interpretation due to model assumptions and uncertainties. A central takeaway was that there is no universally optimal workflow in musculoskeletal simulations; instead, methodological choices must be tailored to the specific research question and the available data.

During the workshop, Djordje Slijepcevic and I developed machine learning approaches aiming to bypass computationally expensive simulations by directly predicting knee joint contact forces in children with cerebral palsy. This work is part of the MODEL-CP project at the University of Vienna, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The overall goal of the project is to improve the understanding of gait pathologies and enhance the prediction of surgical outcomes in cerebral palsy. The workshop provided valuable feedback on these approaches and helped align our methods with current developments in the field.

In addition to the scientific program, the workshop enabled networking with international researchers and fostered exchange in a highly collaborative environment, strengthening existing and potential future collaborations.