Clinical gait analysis for patients with cerebral palsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical gait analysis for patients with cerebral palsy using musculoskeletal computer modelling techniques
IRAS ID
219023
Contact name
Weijie Wang
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 14 days
Research summary
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder that affects a child’s musculoskeletal system and leads to difficulties with locomotion, body posture and poor coordination. Muscle activity in CP has not yet been fully understood due to a lack of effective technical means to measure and analyse muscle activities. Therefore, development of an advanced technique to examine muscle activity during gait would be advantageous in the assessment of CP gait and clinical management. This study is expected to offer an understanding of a possible correlation of 3D gait with patient muscle activities before and after clinical treatment. In addition, the project will compare CP patients with healthy volunteers gait, thus, allowing clinicians to be more accurate in diagnosis and treatment of individual CP patients.
Two different groups will be recruited: A) patients diagnosed with cerebral palsy B) healthy volunteers. Group A: Participants will be recruited from existing Clinical Gait Analysis Laboratory list where CP patients regularly attend for gait analysis. Group B: Participants will be recruited through various sources including volunteer recruitment posters displayed in the University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital and at gatherings of social club members (Saudi club in Dundee) and also by using Dundee University internal communications. Participants will be asked to walk along a 10 meter walkway. At the middle of the walkway a force plate is embedded within the floor surface. The researcher will ensure that each participant’s foot strikes the force plate during walking in an unintentional way, i.e. participants walking in an abnormal way in order to ‘target’ the force plate. For each foot 10 trials will be recorded. The collected data will include ground reaction force, contact timing, Electromyography (EMG), and marker data. Biomechanical parameters will be calculated using computerized musculoskeletal simulation models. The expected outcome of this study is to collect a group of biomechanical muscle parameters, e.g. muscle force and work, using computer simulation of the musculoskeletal system along with individual patient clinical profiles to create a 3D gait analysis protocol that could help to specifically assess each patient’s muscle state individually.
REC name
East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 2
REC reference
17/ES/0008
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2017
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion