Motion Analysis Research Center (MARC)
The users at Samuel Merritt University’s Motion Analysis Research Center (MARC) not only boast an incredibly slick and productive lab, but year after year Director, Drew Smith, organizes a biomechanics event dedicated to educational advancement, youth research, and collaborative studies, known as the Motion Analysis Research Center Symposium.
This means that each year, everyone who shares a love for biomechanics is invited to visit the MARC at Samuel Merritt and get a live demonstration of the capabilities of a full motion capture laboratory, always packed with innovative studies & friendly faces.
The Motion Analysis Research Center (MARC) at Samuel Merritt University (SMU) is among the best equipped healthcare sciences teaching and research laboratories in northern California. It is a 2,100 ft² state-of-the-art laboratory designed to advance the study of human movement in education, research, and patient care. The MARC serves as a teaching center on motion analysis for faculty and students from SMU’s California School of Podiatric Medicine (CSPM), Department of Occupational Therapy, Department of Physical Therapy, and Department of Nursing.
The centerpiece of the MARC is its nine Qualisys 5+ camera system, which is integrated with six in-floor force platforms and 16-channel wireless EMG system. The facility also boasts a dual force platform instrumented treadmill, computerized posturography, portable metabolic exercise testing, an isokinetic dynamometer, two different plantar pressure measurement systems, and an instrumented gait walkway.
An annual interactive symposium to host students & researchers in biomechanics
Each year, the MARC hosts an annual symposium offering faculty, students, and community members an opportunity to actively participate in a forum that includes tutorials, workshops, and presentations, interacting with invited speakers from a variety of fields, all with interests in clinical biomechanics, sports medicine, and rehabilitation.
The symposium draws its audience from occupational therapists, physician assistants, physical therapists, and podiatrists from the Bay Area and Northern California. The 3rd Annual Motion Analysis Research Center Symposium was held November 3-4, 2017 and featured Irene Davis PhD (Spaulding National Running Center), Richard Bouché DPM (Seattle WA), and Russell Volpe DPM (New York College of Podiatric Medicine) as Keynote Speakers.
Performers’ flexibility and dynamic body positions will be no threat to the tracking capabilities of the Qualisys 5+ cameras.
Drew Smith
Want to know more?
Visit the MARC website for more information on their lab and upcoming symposium.