Using Cool Technology To Improve Mobility

The Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement at Nationwide Children’s Hospital helps kids and adults walk and move better. A seemingly simple statement to explain how a team of medical experts uses state of the art computer technology and physical assessment to present patients with in depth information about their movement and offer options for treatment.

Analysis using 3D motion capture—the same technology used to make video games and movie special effects - is used to understand how children with orthopedic and neurological conditions move and how we can better treat them. MoCap, as it is frequently referred to in the movie and video game industry, uses high-speed cameras, special force-sensing plates in the floor, and computers to track the 3D movement of the head, arms, legs, and feet as kids walk, squat, bend, and run.

Patients are referred to the Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement to undergo analysis using this technology to understand how they are moving in three dimensions. It is part of a comprehensive evaluation which includes a clinical assessment with a physical therapist, mapping of the pressure under the patient’s foot while they walk, and their dynamic muscle activity. Then a team, comprised of physical therapists, physical medicine and rehabilitation doctors and orthopedic surgeons provide recommendations for treatment to enhance function and mobility. A wide range of clinical service areas might be part of a patient’s individualized care plan and team when developing the best plan for improving a patient’s mobility.

Many of the patients seen in the Honda Center are patients with neuromuscular conditions such as cerebral palsy or spina bifida as well as patients with foot differences, such as club foot. Made possible through the generous support of Honda, the Honda Center for Gait Analysis is also moving into the area of spine biomechanics by studying the functional movements of patients with scoliosis before and after different treatments such as bracing or surgery. This new area of treatment is an exciting, collaborative research project looking at patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis as well as patients with scoliosis due to different neuromuscular or syndromic conditions.

There's More.

To learn more about the Honda Center for Gait Analysis and Mobility Enhancement and how they provide patients with extensive personal mobility assessments and a comprehensive consultation for possible orthopedic surgery, physical medicine, neurosurgery and physical therapy visit:

“I’m really happy to be here and work with our entire team of physicians and medical providers. With the volume of patients that we see at Nationwide Children’s, I think we can have a great impact on research in pediatric orthopedics.”

Nationwide Children’s was proud to welcome Kirsten Tulchin Francis, PhD, as Director of the Honda Gait and Mobility Analysis Lab in March 2022.