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Motion-analysis technology is being used by Ball State faculty and students to rehabilitate problems caused by injury, disease or surgery.
Students will participate in an immersive learning experience at Cardinal Advantage, a 1,500-square-foot facility with a digital motion-analysis system featuring 10 cameras that detect small changes in gait caused by injury, disease or rehabilitative surgery.
Cardinal Advantage is located in the recently opened Motion Analysis and Therapy Complex at 3300 W. Community Drive. The outpatient treatment and research facility, a partnership between Midwest HealthStrategies and Ball State's Biomechanics Laboratory, is the first such complex to open that is not located on the grounds of a research hospital in a large, metropolitan community.
"We see this as a great opportunity for our students to work with people visiting the motion-analysis facility who are in need of specialized rehabilitation care," said Eric Dugan, biomechanics laboratory director. "This facility is much larger than the one we currently have at Ball State, and is also easily accessible to the patient population that we are working with.
"At this state-of-the-art facility we will not only provide services for people with sports and work-related injuries, but we will also be working with amputees and people suffering from neurological disorders," he said.
Ball State has six graduate students regularly working at the facility. Plans call for upper level undergraduates to spend time in the lab in the coming months. It may also be opened to students studying in other health-related fields.
"This is an immersive learning experience that allows our students to get hands-on experience in their field," Dugan said "It prepares them to work in health care related motion-analysis facilities around the country. A few of our recent graduates who worked in the lab on campus said experience with 3-D technologies allowed them to move right into a similar job after graduation.
"The facility will also allow us to pursue a research agenda focused on how to improve rehabilitation practices for patients suffering from various ailments," he said. "This knowledge will assist physicians and physical therapists in the planning of targeted and efficient treatment protocols."
Motion analysis uses 3-D video to capture and review the range of motion of the body. Small markers about the size of pingpong balls are attached to specific points on the body and are tracked. It takes researchers only a few seconds to produce reports that show joint movement, providing easier diagnosis and communication of results.
Comprehensive study of a movement pattern, such as walking, can yield valuable data to assist with planning of rehabilitation treatments and recommendation of proper orthopedic equipment, Dugan said.
"The facility will also allow us to pursue a research agenda focused on how to improve rehabilitation practices for patients suffering from various ailments," he said. "This knowledge will assist physicians and physical therapists in the planning of targeted and efficient treatment protocols.
"We think it is a step forward in educating our students due to the integration of technology into research as well as rehabilitation," he said. "With an aging population, we also believe we are at the forefront of research in determining solutions to the injuries people suffer as they age."
In the future, Dugan believes Cardinal Advantage will be used to help to improve performance of elite athletes and aid coaching.
"Very few facilities around the country have this type of motion-analysis technology, and we think professional sports organizations and individual athletes would be natural partners in the study of elite individuals," he said. "And because Ball State has a long history of working with wheelchair athletes, we look forward to working with that population as well."
