Tandem Instrumented Treadmill for Accurate Assessment of in-vivo Joint Kinetics

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案要求提供资金，以获得一台仪器化跑步机（AMTI Corp.沃特敦，MA，USA，型号#SBSFIT），用于量化地面反作用力（GRF）。仪器化跑步机（IT）对于步态研究至关重要，这些研究要求受试者相对于实验室保持静止，或执行更具临床相关性的负载场景，如倾斜行走/跑步。GRF与关节运动学（即关节角度）耦合对于获得关节动力学（即关节扭矩/力矩）至关重要。关节运动学和动力学共同提供了步态分析的基础，步态分析是用于增强我们对关节生物力学的了解、为步态异常患者提供干预和/或改善运动表现的学科。校园里有两个设施可以进行运动分析：1）Shriners医院的运动分析实验室，2）物理治疗系内的运动捕获核心设施，但两者都有有限的能力来研究各种加载场景，并且不适合研究具有病理步态的受试者的运动。我们处于一个独特的位置，将最近开发的高速双平面荧光镜系统与拟议的IT相结合。该系统使用无标记配准将关节的3D CT模型与2D荧光镜图像对齐，从而以惊人的精度（~0.1 mm）复制体内关节运动。将IT与其他现有的运动捕捉技术（包括LED红外设备和电磁跟踪单元）集成，将允许不同的研究人员在一个实验室中同时计算3D关节运动学和关节动力学。IT将直接受益于目前在NIH资助的PI：计算生物力学，骨科，物理治疗，生物工程/神经接口，妇产科或正在寻求资助：运动和运动科学，机械工程和人体工程学和生物学。所提出的IT能够实现各种场景（即倾斜/下降运动，精确控制速度），这些场景在传统的步态实验室中根本无法执行。由于IT降低了单个测力板上双重撞击的可能性，并消除了任何测力板上没有撞击的试验，因此与地面测力板相比，它们产生的数据变化和误差更小，直接转化为更少的试验和更少的患者疲劳。与步态实验室不同，拟议的IT是移动的，需要的工作空间少一个数量级;允许搬迁到补充测试设备必须保持固定的设施。因此，建议的仪器跑步机既有目的，又有实质性的需要，不同于目前在校园里的步态实验室。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests funding to acquire an instrumented treadmill (AMTI Corp. Watertown, MA, USA, Model #SBSFIT) for purposes of quantifying ground reaction forces (GRFs). An instrumented treadmill (IT) is essential for gait studies that require subjects to remain stationary with respect to the laboratory or perform more clinically relevant loading scenarios such as inclined walking/running. GRFs coupled with joint kinematics (i.e. joint angles) are essential to obtain joint kinetics (i.e. joint torques/moments). Together, joint kinematics and kinetics provide the foundation of gait analysis, the discipline used to enhance our knowledge of joint biomechanics, provide interventions for patients with gait abnormalities, and/or improve athletic performance. Two facilities on campus can perform motion analysis: 1) the Movement Analysis Lab at Shriners Hospital, and 2) the Motion Capture Core Facility within the Department of Physical Therapy, but both have limited capacity to study a variety of loading scenarios and are not well suited to study motions of subjects with pathological gait. We are in a unique position to couple a recently developed high-speed biplane fluoroscope system with the proposed IT. This system uses markerless registration to align 3D CT models of joints to 2D fluoroscope images, thus replicating in-vivo joint motion with astounding accuracy (~0.1 mm). Integrating the IT with additional existing motion capture technology, including an LED infrared device and an electromagnetic tracking unit, would allow a diverse group of researchers to simultaneously compute 3D joint kinematics and joint kinetics in a single lab. The IT would directly benefit PIs who currently have NIH funding in: Computational Biomechanics, Orthopaedics, Physical Therapy, Bioengineering/Neural Interfaces, and Obstetrics and Gynecology or are pursuing funding in: Exercise and Sport Science, Mechanical Engineering and Ergonomics and Biology. The proposed IT enables a variety of scenarios (i.e. inclined/declined locomotion, precise control of speed) that simply cannot be performed in traditional gait labs. Because ITs reduce the likelihood of a double strike on a single plate and eliminates trials without strikes on any plates, they yield data with less variation and error than those obtained with over-ground force plates, directly translating into fewer trials and less patient fatigue. Unlike gait labs, the proposed IT is mobile and requires working space an order of magnitude less; allowing relocation to facilities where supplemental testing equipment must remain stationary. Therefore, the proposed instrumented treadmill has both a purpose and a substantial need distinct from that of the gait labs currently on campus.