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The future of motion capture: preventive medicine

While motion capture is a firmly established medical technology, its use still tends to be […]

While motion capture is a firmly established medical technology, its use still tends to be limited to universities, large research hospitals and major sporting organizations. From helping to rehabilitate wounded soldiers to improving the form of world-class athletes, motion capture aids the work of leading research centers and private medical practices around the world. However this looks set to change – in the next two to five years, motion capture is likely to become far more accessible to local clinics and surgery centers, as the lowering cost and increasing ease of use of the technology helps it break out of the big hospitals and labs and into our local communities.

Motion capture was originally used for the clinical assessment of seriously motion-impaired people such as cerebral palsy sufferers. By analyzing patients’ walking gait patterns and upper limb movements in detail, then combining this data with the results of physical examinations, clinicians can understand why and how a patient is moving in a particular way and make informed recommendations for treatment and therapy.

Practical applications

Today, evolution of the technology – coupled with the ever increasing speed and power of computers – means motion capture systems are playing an ever more significant role in rehabilitating patients and improving the performance of athletes and sportspeople.

For instance, the Motor Control Laboratory at Ohio University School of Rehab & Communication Sciences has created a virtual dodgeball game using motion capture technology to reduce the fear associated with movement. By using motion capture systems, the university researchers can modify the game in real-time to change the way the patient moves to increase their range of motion. The Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina uses motion capture systems to see how athletes’ movements can influence their performance and risk of re-injury. For example, for the treatment of concussions, the university has begun a study focused on the balance and neurocognition of athletes, two factors that help sports medicine staff decide when it’s safe for concussed individuals to return to the game.

Capturing motion data at the required levels of accuracy to make informed medical judgments has traditionally needed a fair amount of physical space, technical expertise and analytical skill. For example, specialist cameras have to be correctly positioned and calibrated. Markers must be properly applied to the subject in order that the system can pick out and monitor the right points on the body. And the data produced by the system needs to be interpreted by someone who has a detailed understanding of what’s significant – and precisely what it’s telling them. But this is changing.

Opening up accessibility

Ten years ago, it would have taken at least a week or two to train somebody to set up and use a system. Now, they can be up and running in a day or two. Cameras are becoming smaller and more powerful, meaning less space is required to set up a motion analysis lab. And where the cost of a system capable of producing the accuracy required for medical assessments would have previously started at over $100,000, now it’s approaching a level that puts it within reach of many more institutions. These trends are ongoing, and we are producing systems that are ever more accessible and simpler to use.

The ultimate goal for the technology is for it to sink into the background completely. In two to five years, cameras will calibrate themselves, detect when a subject is in view and begin a capture automatically. Systems will be smarter – able to make their own decisions or present options to the operator. Looking a little further out, to the turn of the decade and beyond, it’s quite likely that algorithms will improve to the point where systems can detect motion accurately from video without the need for physical markers to be placed on the subject (the long-time ‘holy grail’ of the motion capture industry).

Going further mainstream

As motion capture systems grow smarter, smaller, simpler and cheaper they will become far more widespread, with the potential to bring huge benefits in areas such as preventative healthcare. Today, for example, only serious cases of motion impairment are likely to be referred for gait analysis at one of the major hospitals. But once systems are installed in local clinics and surgery centers, a 33-year-old patient complaining of leg or hip pain, say, could be given a routine assessment that predicts whether he or she is likely to need a hip replacement in later life. Detection at such an early stage might well prompt interventions that result in such patients getting an extra 10-20 years’ use from the hip than they would otherwise.

Of course, the fact there will be far more systems in operation also means there will be far more data captured. And, as more users share this data online for mutual benefit, systems can become ever more useful. Take sports performance, where over the next few years motion capture is set to move from big-money sports clubs into universities, schools and local communities. Rather than simply telling you a gymnast produces a power of X when she hits the high beam, for example, by comparing this to results from a wide pool of data the system could alert you to the fact that she’s exceptional and ought to be on the national training program.

Before long, it won’t only be universities and large research hospitals utilizing motion capture data, but surgery centers and local clinics.

Photo: Flickr user University of Salford Press Office


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Derek Potter

Derek Potter, head of product management at Vicon, earned a Master’s degree in biomechanics from Queen’s university. Prior to working for Vicon he gained experience in biomechanics and motion capture, managing a gait lab, as an ergonomics consultant, research assistant and lecturer.

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