Kei Masani
Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory
Lyndhurst Centre, Toronto Rehab
520 Sutherland Dr.
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 3G9, Canada
tel: +1-416-597-3422 ext. 6304

 

e-mail:

 

URL:

   http://homepage.mac.com/masani/index.myweb.html

Education

  • Ph.D. in Education, University of Tokyo
  • M.Sc. in Education, University of Tokyo

Research

Awards

·        Japanese Society of Biomechanics, The young investigator award, 2000

Recent publications

Journal papers

  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, N. Kawashima, and M. R. Popovic. “Neuro-musculo-skeletal torque generation process has a large destabilizing effect on the control mechanism of quiet standing.” Journal of Neurophysiology, In press.
  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, and M. R. Popovic, “Controlling balance during quiet standing: proportional and derivative controller generates preceding motor command to body sway position observed in experiments,” Gait and Posture, vol. 23, pp. 164-172, 2006.
  • J. Ushiyama, K. Masani, M. Kouzaki, H. Kanehisa, and T. Fukunaga, “Difference in aftereffects following prolonged Achilles tendon vibration on muscle activity during maximal voluntary contraction among plantar flexor synergists,” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 98, pp. 1427-1433, 2005.
  • K. Masani, M. Kouzaki, H. Shirasawa, S. Kuno, H. Kanehisa, and T. Fukunaga, “On the evaluation parameter of static posturography in view of the stationarity and reproducibility of the measurements,” Japanese Journal of Biomechanics in Sports and Exercise, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 150-162, 2004. [in Japanese]
  • M. Kouzaki, M. Shinohara, K. Masani, and T. Fukunaga, “Force fluctuations are modulated by alternate muscle activity of knee extensor synergists during low-level sustained contraction”, Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 97, pp. 2090-2097, 2004.
  • K. Masani, M. R. Popovic, K. Nakazawa, M. Kouzaki, and D. Nozaki, “Importance of body sway velocity information in controlling ankle extensor activites during quiet stance,” Journal of Neurophysiology, vol. 90, no. 6, pp. 3774-3782, 2004.
  • M. Kousaki, M. Shino, K. Masani, M. Tachi, H. Kanehisa, and T. Fukunaga, “Local circulation of knee extensor synergists in relation to alternate muscle activity during low-level sustained contractions,” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 95, pp. 49-56, 2003.
  • M. Kouzaki, M. Shinohara, K. Masani, H. Kanehisa, and T. Fukunaga, “Alternate muscle activity observed between knee extensor synergists during sustained contractions in human,” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 93, pp. 675-684, 2002.
  • H. Kanehisa, H. Nagareda, Y. Kawakami, H. Akima, K. Masani, M. Kouzaki, and T. Fukunaga, “Effects of equivolume isometric training programs comprising medium or high resistance on muscle size and strength,” European Journal of  Applied Physiology, vol. 87, pp. 112-119, 2002.
  • K. Masani, M. Kouzaki, and T. Fukunaga, “Variability of ground reaction forces during treadmill walking,” Journal of  Applied Physiology, vol. 92, pp. 1885-1890, 2002.

Conference papers

  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, M. O. Abe, K. Nakazawa, and M. R. Popovic, “Influence of the neuromuscular system on the control mechanism of balance during quiet standing,” 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, USA, vol. 10, pp. 14-18, 2006.
  • M. O. Abe, N. Kawashima, K. Masani, M. Akai, and K. Nakazawa, “Tremor synchronization in both soleus muscles during quiet standing: effect of stroke,” 19th Congress of the Japanese Society for Biomechanics, Saitama, Japan, vol. 9, pp. 13-15, 2006.
  • A. H. Vette, K. Masani, and M. R. Popovic, “Balance control during standing: stabilizing PD controller generates center-of-mass dynamics as observed in healthy individuals,” 11th Annual Conference of the International FES Society, Miyagi, Japan, vol. 9, pp. 12-15, 2006.
  • X. Tortolero, K. Masani, T. A. Thrasher, and M. R. Popovic, “Instability prediction by monitoring center of pressure during standing,” 28th Annual IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Conference, New York, USA, 2006.
  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, M. O. Abe, A. Morris, K. Nakazawa, and M. R. Popovic, “The influence of the musculoskeletal system on the control mechanism of quiet standing,” 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany, 2006. [Invited Symposium]
  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, M. O. Abe, K. Nakazawa, and M. R. Popovic, “Derivative gain in the neural controller accounts for the temporal relationship between body sway and muscle activity,” 5th World Congress of Biomechanics, Munich, Germany, 2006. [Invited Symposium]
  • M. O. Abe, K. Nakazawa, K. Masani, and M. Akai, “Aging effect on coherent activities of bilateral soleus muscles during quiet standing,” XVI Congress of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, Torino, Italy, 2006.
  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, and M. R. Popovic, “Is the physiological tremor an error source for balance regulation, inducing body sway during standing?” 53rd Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Denver, USA, 2006.
  • T. A. Thrasher, K. Masani, and M. R. Popovic, “Gait training regimen for incomplete spinal cord injury using functional electrical stimulation,” 45th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering, Fukuoka, Japan, 2006.
  • K. Masani, A. H. Vette, D. Nozaki, K. Nakazawa, and M. R. Popovic, “Is the physiological tremor an error source in balance regulation, inducing body sway during standing?” Annual Meeting of Neural Control of Movement, Miami, USA, 2006.
  • A. H. Vette, K. Masani, and M. R. Popovic, “Implementation of a PD controller for improving human balance,” 10th Annual Conference of the International FES Society, Montreal, Canada, 2005.
  • K. Masani and M. R. Popovic, “Comparison of ankle torque control error in healthy older and young subjects during quiet standing,” 52nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, Nashville, USA, 2005.
  • X. Tortolero, K. Masani and M. R. Popovic, “Instability detection during quiet standing,” 2nd Annual Ontario Biomechanics Conference, Barrie, ON, Canada, 2005.
  • X. Tortolero, K. Masani, C. Maluly, and M. R. Popovic, “Balance during quiet standing: the role of toes in the fine-tuning control of balance,” 1st Annual Rehabiltation Engineering Research Day, Toronto, Canada, 2004.
  • K. Masani, X. Tortolero, C. Maluly, and M. R. Popovic, “Toes can fine-tune balanceduring quiet stance,” 34th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, USA, vol. 10, pp. 23-27, 2004.
  • A. H. Vette, K. Masani, and M. R. Popovic, “Physical implementation of a PD controller for improving human balance during quiet stance,” National Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Conference, Toronto, Canada, 2004.
  • K. Masani, D. Nozaki, M. Kousaki, T. A. Thrasher, and M. R. Popovic, “Velocity information plays a role in controlling ballistic sway during quiet standing,” XVth Congress of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, Boston, USA, 2004.
  • M. Abe, K. Nakazawa, K. Masani, and M. Akai, “Fractal characteristics of ground reaction force time-series while standing and walking: are they correlated?” XVth Congress of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, Boston, USA, 2004.
  • M. Abe, K. Nakazawa, K. Masani, and M. Akai, “On a common fractal property of body fluctuations in human gait and posture,” 1st France-Japan Joint Symposium on Human Motor Control, 2004.
  • X. Tortolero, K. Masani, C. Maluly, and M. R. Popovic,” The role of toes in the fine-tuning control of balance,” 1st Annual Ontario Biomechanics Conference, Barrie, ON, Canada, 2004.

Academic Memberships

  • International Society of Biomechanics, Member (2005 – present)
  • American College of Sports Medicine, Member (2006 – present)
  • International FES Society, Member (2006 – present)
  • Society for Neuroscience, Member (2000 - present)
  • Japanese Society of Biomechanics, Member (1990 - present) & Board Member (1997 - 2003)
  • The Japanese Society of Baby Science, Member (2001 - present)
  • Japan Society of Exercise and Sports Physiology, Member (1990 - present)
  • Japanese Society of Physical Education, Member (1990 - present)
  • Japan Society of Training Science for Exercise and Sport, Member and Board Member (2004 – present)

Interests

  • Balance control during standing and gait – How do we keep our balance?
  • Motion fluctuation – What is the intrinsic difference between robots and us?
  • Control rule of complex human motions – How do we execute complex movements in daily life?