Paving the way for gait
A new research and education facility, which houses a gait laboratory at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden, opened in September 2017. The laboratory uses the latest 3D optical motion tracking system from Qualisys. Patients referred to the gait lab have symptoms such as cerebral palsy, diabetes, hip arthrosis, Achilles tendon ruptures or have suffered strokes.
Roy Tranberg and Ronald Zügner, facilitate the investigations that occur at the gait laboratory, which will help more patients receive the help they need whilst ensuring the quality of care is maintained for those who have already been treated for other gait disorders.
At the hospital, patients with different conditions are examined using gait analysis, which influences the treatment of patients with walking difficulties and their overall quality of life.
All patients have gait-related difficulties and might need advanced surgery, botulinum toxin injection, orthosis or physiotherapy in order to alleviate gait difficulties in hip, knee or ankle joints.
The facility carries out a far deeper analysis, which gives more information than a regular medical visit, and, in turn enables them to make a more accurate assessment of upcoming treatments and/or interventions. It is not only beneficial for the patients, but for the patient’s family too.
The patient’s movement patterns are captured by attaching reflective markers to the skin and tracking their motion using 16 cameras. Force plates that are built into the floor measure ground reaction forces simultaneously with the motion and provide calculations of forces produced as the patient walks.
Not even clinically trained eyes can note the rapid movement that occurs between the joint segments when an individual takes a step. They can see tendencies, but it’s impossible to see in detail how a knee joint is stressed in one footstep. Thanks to the technology, Roy and Ronald can see fifteen times faster than the eye, thus giving patients a more accurate and complete assessment.
We have chosen to invest in new equipment from Qualisys, which will help us to grow to be bigger and better within clinical gait analysis, and will continue to run the clinic and carry out research and development at the hospital just as we have done for the last 20 years.
Roy Tranberg
Want to know more?
Learn more about the system used at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital Gait Lab and the work done at the gait lab by visiting the link below.