Markus Gambietz at QUT in Brisbane

Have you ever wondered how much musculoskeletal optimizations like addBiomechanics or OpenSim RRA actually reflect a persons’ body constitution? From February to April 2025, I stayed at Queensland University of Technology to find out!

Together with colleagues from TU Dortmund, I developed a smartphone-based method for personalizing musculoskeletal models and recorded MRI data to validate our method. Providing accurate ground-truth MRI-based musculoskeletal models can be challenging, as the MRI images require precise annotation, and body deformation occurring while lying on the MRI table needs to be accounted for. To enhance my understanding of working with MRI data and creating reference musculoskeletal models, I visited Prof. Katie McMahon from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, who is an expert in medical imaging and has previous experience with MRI applications in musculoskeletal modeling. At the Herston Imaging Research Facility, we closely examined full-body MRI scans and the relationship between an individual’s body constitution and gait behavior. We were also working on a new personalization method ourselves (hint: you already have the device you need in your lab).

In the lab it was very easy to connect with peers and professors, and I often visited QUASR (Queensland Unit for Advanced Shoulder Research), an interdisciplinary research center that offered many intriguing topics being pursued by others. In my free time, I enjoyed weekend trips to the surrounding areas near Brisbane and live music at South Bank.

Thank you to the ISB International Travel Grant and CRC 1483 EmpkinS for providing funds and enabling me to have this great opportunity.