Amsterdam gait lab and city tour
On Tuesday afternoon a lab tour is scheduled to the VU University Amsterdam and the VU University Medical Center. Demos will be given of various scientific and clinical labs and experimental set-ups.Each participant will vist 4 demos of ~20 minutes each.
CLICK HERE FOR ALL AMSTERDAM TOUR INFO (PDF)
After the lab tours we will head for the Amsterdam city center for dinner & drinks & possibly more at a cool Amsterdam restaurant.
A. Clinical gait analysis
Location: VUmc, clinical gait lab
The clinical gait lab at the VU University Medical Center is used regularly for
patient care (diagnosis and evaluation) and research purposes, in order to
improve daily functioning of patients with various motor disorders. A 10m
walkway is equipped with two force plates, and video and muscle activity (EMG)
are recorded synchronously. With multimedia movement analysis software
(Moxieviewer) the movement data can be easily evaluated by physicians and
therapists. 3D data are collected with an optoelectric motion analysis system
(Optotrak). Data collected in this lab will be used for the gait analysis
tutorial on Wednesday May 28.
B. Measuring stability of walking
Location: VUmc, physical therapy gait lab
Feel how it is to be perturbed! Stability is an important aspect of walking, and can be impaired in many patient populations. However, stability is very hard to quantify. Using the Perturbation Machine, subjects walking on a treadmill are
perturbed (i.e. pulled to the side, or forward or backward) at a fixed moment in the stride cycle, and the effect on the walking pattern is measured. Using this set-up, the gait sensitivity Norm that predicts stability in passive dynamic walkers and robots, is tested in humans (also see presentation on Wednesday).
C. Energy cost of walking
Location: VUmc, patio
Walking economy is a measure for the effort of walking, and is often increased in
patients with motor disorders. Improving the economy of walking is an important
treatment goal. With ambulatory measurement of oxygen consumption, the energy
cost of walking can be calculated. In this demo, the measurement tools and
real-time registration of VO2 and CO2 will be demonstrated and the energy cost
of walking of one of the participants will be measured.
D. Tripping over and avoiding abstacles during walking
Location: VU-FBW, looplabDuring bi-pedal walking, perturbations may have serious consequences for balance. Tripping over an obstacle is an externally induced perturbation that very often is the cause of falls in the elderly. We have investigated tripping reactions in both young and older adults and we will demonstrate the experimental setup and videos of these tripping experiments. Furthermore, we will demonstrate current studies on another type of perturbation, sideway obstacle avoidance. In these experiments, the appearance of the obstacles is timed on kinematic parameters of the ongoing trial.
E. Ambulatory measurement of human walking
Ambulatory measurement of lower extremity dynamics using an instrumented force shoe. Each shoe is equipped with 2 force sensors (6 degrees-of-freedom) to measure ground reaction force and moments, and 2 inertial and magnetic sensors (IMS) measuring movement (orientation). The force shoe and the IMS are alternatives to the systems currently used in standard gait laboratories (e.g. force plates and optoelectronic systems). These systems are ambulant and do not require fully euipped gait labs. Step-to-step variation can be easily evaluated.
F. Walking with a lower limb prosthesis
Location: VU-FBW, G418
Become a little more of a passive dynamic walker yourself: walking with a lower limb
prosthesis. One of the motives for studying and modeling human gait as well as
designing and building robots is to improve lower limb prosthesis and orthosis.
Although many of us have probably considered the consequences of losing (part)
of the leg and walking with a replacement, few have actually experienced what
walking with a prosthesis is like. In this demo you will get the opportunity of
walking with an above knee (dummy) prosthesis. We will experience and discuss
what limitations are experienced by people walking with a prosthesis and how
these problems relate to problems tackled in dynamic walking research.
Look at this MAP for locations!
Time schedule:
15h00: Leave Delft by bus
16h30: demo 1 + 2
17h15: break
17h45: demo 3 + 4
18h30: leave for city center
19h00: dinner
21h00: time to spend in Amsterdam
23h or 00h: bus back to Delft (or any time earlier/ later by train)
