MONTREAL, March 15, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada inaugurated its Motion Analysis Centre (MAC). With its state-of-the-art technology this centre is perfectly in accordance with the hospital's mission of care, teaching and research. This new centre was made possible largely thanks to the support of the Ladies of the Oriental Shrine of North America (LOSNA) from Toronto during the Exceptional Care for Exceptional Kids Capital Campaign, with their contribution of $500,000.
The main objective of the Motion Analysis Centre is to evaluate the functional deficits associated with gait in children and, to a lesser extent, to detect the origin of possible functional deficits. To achieve this, MAC professional staff members use sensors placed on patients' bodies and optoelectronic (infrared) cameras. With these technologies it is possible to quantify the child's movements in space and time. The center team can thereby detect abnormal motion patterns and understand the biomechanical impact of these incorrect movements. The analysis is done before treatment to provide accurate information to the healthcare team that will evaluate the treatment options (surgery or physiotherapy, for example). It is also done after the treatment to measure the child's progress following surgery or therapy.
"Equipped with a set of markers and ten optoelectronic cameras, force plates for kinetic analysis, electromyograms to quantify muscle activation, an isokinetic dynamometer capable of measuring the forces in various joints, and many other pieces of equipment, this centre is going to allow us to optimize the care offered to patients who require intervention while developing a preventive and cutting-edge approach in pediatric orthopedics," explains Louis-Nicolas Veilleux, Ph.D., head researcher of the centre. "This new service will allow us to not only improve our ability to diagnose and treat, but also to be part of the many multicenter studies within the Shriners Hospitals for Children network." So there will now be two paediatric centers for motion analysis in Quebec: the Marie-Enfant Rehabilitation Center and Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada, both located in the metropolitan area, but with differing and complementary expertise. In effect, the two institutions have collaborated for a long time and the partnership established in care, education and research will only be more productive.
"The Motion Analysis Centre team is multidisciplinary: researchers, therapy physicians, kinesiologists, occupational therapists and specialized technicians. Everyone will bring their knowledge and understanding to produce much more efficient steps in diagnostics or treatment. Let's not forget either that the center is a member of the SMACnet network, a network that includes the thirteen motion analysis centers of the 22 Shriners Hospitals in the United States. "We're going to take a large leap forward ...," says Reggie Hamdy, M.D., Chief of Staff at Shriners Hospitals for Children - Canada and director of the centre.
In the near future, the Motion Analysis Centre will also be used to develop sports medicine, arthritis prevention, therapeutic tools and research. The center will serve not only the people of Quebec but also the rest of Canada and the northern United States.
SOURCE Shriners Hospitals For Children
Emmanuelle Rondeau, Communications and Marketing Manager, 514 282-6990, [email protected]; Source : Laure Moureaux, Communications Officer, 514 282-7222, [email protected]
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