Biomechanics
 

Jeffrey Lotz, PhD
Phone: 415-476-7881
Email: [email protected]
Office: 513 Parnassus Ave (Medical Science Building)

Biomechanics, led by Dr. Jeff Lotz, is located at the UCSF Parnassus campus at 505 Parnassus Avenue.

DR. LOTZ'S UCSF PROFILE

 

Macro-mechanical Testing

The Core provides a large array of instruments that can quantitatively evaluate the mechanical and material properties of skeletal tissues. Biaxial and bench-top mechanical testers will provide these capabilities on a whole bone or animal level. These tests will be based on three- and four-point bending methods.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)

AFM-based indentation using the Asylum MFP 3D Biosystem measures mechanical properties on a range of biological tissues at a nanometer resolution. This system integrates nanoindentation with optical microscopy to provide high-resolution force measurements with a spatial component.

Gait Testing

The DigiGait imaginig system is an instrument that analyzes gait to measure a functional outcome in animal models of human disease. This system has been used extensively in neuroscience and is now being applied more broadly to study musculoskeletal disease. The paws of the animals are imaged while moving on a treadmill belt, and metrics of posture and locomotion are reported to characterize their gait.