Exploring Variable Achilles Tendon Loading Via Active Acoustics [Dataset]

This dataset supports the evaluation of a novel Active Acoustics (AA) method for non-invasive, direct measurement of Achilles tendon (AT) loading. AA uses continuous mechanical stimulation to track tendon dynamics in real-time. Data were collected from 10 healthy participants across 13 locomotion tasks, with reference loads computed via Inverse Dynamics. Tasks include constrained isometric contractions in a dynamometer, free (foot-in-the-air) ankle movements, calf raises, three walking speeds, running, and three hopping frequencies in both solid ground and over sand. The dataset includes raw and processed ankle acoustics, raw and processed motion capture, EMG recordings, analysis scripts, and OpenSim configuration, scripts, and outputs. This resource encourages the exploration of tendon loads across a variety of conditions in the time-series domain for low-latency/real-time applications in assistive and rehabilitation devices.