Meeting Abstract
Grasping in vertebrates is important for locomotion, prehension, and reproduction. Grasp can be achieved with the manus, pes, tail, mouth, trunk, or tongue. Manual grasping has received attention for its obvious use by humans, however these studies are not comprehensive in understanding of the structure-function relationships in other grasping appendages or the evolution of grasping in early tetrapod clades. Previous locomotion studies on grasping have included the use of high-speed X-ray videography and force platforms, however few have analyzed torques. Here, we use a beam that is divided into four serial segments. Each beam segment is instrumented with a six axis force and torque transducer (ATI, Nano 17) and is diagonally offset. Using high-speed biplanar X-ray videography in combination with our beam system, investigations of grasping evolution and structure-function relationships can be performed.
