Sunday, January 8, 2017

X-ray video technology

Using a combination of X-ray video, motion control tracking, and computer graphics, scientists are able to show what goes on inside animals while they're moving.

Frames from an XROMM made by Jonas Lauströer.
Above are stills of a chihuahua's forelimb movement, with the scapula rendered in red.



Wired recently shared a video of a pig eating, which you can see at this link.

Via Research Gate


This video shows the biomechanics of a guinea fowl walking (Link to video). Knowing more about these movements can help us back-construct a dinosaur's movements based on trackways.

The study of fish using this technique has shown that the skull bones are loose jointed. Also, the powerful body muscles thought to be needed mainly for swimming also serve to aid the fish in suction feeding. Fish need to gulp a large volume of water in order to bring prey into their mouths, and scientists didn't fully appreciate this until seeing the videos.