Inside Pediatrics Winter 2015

Revolutionizing the Treatment of Movement Disorders

Inside the Technology

Analyzing gait and motion in children with movement disorders has been a less-than-perfect science largely dependent on observations made by the naked eye. Subtleties often can neither be seen nor discerned. Until now. Earlier this fall, Children’s of Alabama took an important step in revolutionizing the care of children with movement disorders by opening the Gait & Motion Analysis Lab. It is the only pediatric clinical lab within a four-state area that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida, and one of only 23 in the United States. Located in a dedicated space within the hospital’s Physical Therapy & Occupational Therapy Department, the lab is equipped with BTS GAITLAB software, the latest advanced technology that measures movement, muscle activity and force production to create a clear, three- dimensional picture of a patient’s movement, muscle activity and postural alignment. Physicians and surgeons, particularly in orthopedics and rehabilitation medicine, use the data acquired through the analysis in conjunction with imaging scans, clinical examination, the patient’s medical history and

activity goals to guide treatment and measure outcomes. “Our pediatric gait and motion analysis laboratory

is revolutionizing our surgical and

non-surgical decision- making,” said pediatric orthopedist Michael Conklin, M.D., who serves as the lab’s medical director. “The computerized gait analysis gives us the information we need to

determine the surgical, therapeutic and orthotic interventions that will lead to best outcomes for a patient.”

The playful décor provides a child-friendly setting for the high-tech clinical evaluations performed in the new Gait & Motion Analysis Lab, one of only 23 pediatric clinical labs in the U.S.

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