Research

In collaboration with the University of Utah, the Motion Analysis Center at Shriners—Chicago is using biplane fluoroscopy to analyze the long-term outcomes of surgical treatments such as subtalar fusion and lateral column lengthening for correction of pes planovalgus.  Biplane fluoroscopy allows investigators to measure tibiotalar and subtalar kinematics, which are not able to be analyzed using conventional marker-based gait analysis.

The Motion Analysis Center at Shriners—Chicago is exploring the applications of machine learning algorithms to quantitative gait analysis data. This development project intends to provide evidence-based interventions strategies to pediatric patients with struggling with movement disorders.

Current gait models treat the foot as a single segment, limiting use in patients with foot deformities including planovalgus and clubfeet. Thus, there is a need for a segmental foot model capable of kinetic analysis that can be practically employed in a clinical setting. The Motion Analysis Center aims to add kinetics to the existing Milwaukee Foot Model and implement the segmental foot kinetics in OpenSim model, allowing for more accurate calculation of joint reaction forces in patients with foot deformities.

Children with cerebral palsy are often prescribed ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) to improve walking ability. These AFOs often hold the ankle in fixed position with a 90° angle between the foot and tibia. The term tuning the AFO describes a method in which the standard configuration of the ankle joint is questioned. The overall goal of this study is to determine if AFOs prescribed to children with CP using the quantitative tuning methodology will yield better results than the current standard of care AFO prescription practices.

Limb length discrepancy (LLD) is a common condition, with some studies citing a prevalence of one in every one-thousand individuals. When performing surgical correction, symmetry between the long bones of the lower extremity is usually not considered. This subsequently leads to a phenomenon referred to as knee-height asymmetry (KHA). Cadaveric studies have shown that KHA can be associated with early onset osteoarthritic changes possibly resulting from atypical loading during repetitive activities such as walking. To date, there is minimal information describing the effects of KHA on gait biomechanics. This study aims to further investigate these atypical gait biomechanics using gait analysis and musculoskeletal modeling via OpenSim.

As a participating center on this NIH grant, our group works with Baylor College of Medicine and collaborators from across the country to study osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a rare genetic disorder characterized by brittle, easily broken bones that affects both children and adults. The grant aims to better understand all genetic forms of OI, expand treatment options and train the next generation of physicians and scientists to study and treat this disorder. Specifically, our group looks at how mobility is impacting by OI.