New lab at St Xavier’s Technical Institute to conduct gait analysis

To help sportsmen, athletes and those with limb and motor deficiencies.

Dr Atul Bhaskar, a pediatric orthopedic doctor associated with the lab, said, "A gait analysis is for the legs what ECG is for the heart." (Representative/ Express file photo)

In a one-of-its-kind-service offered at an engineering college, the St Xavier’s Technical Institute in Mahim has set up a bio-mechanical lab which will provide gait analysis. This lab conducts gait analysis in 3D and will give information that will help sportsmen, athletes and specially-abled children with acute limb and motor deficiencies to resolve problems of posture, playing, walking, and running. The engineering college provides the technological service and also handles data processing.

At a time when the National Education Policy is promoting a multidisciplinary approach in education, this technical institute has set a novel example. Set up in collaboration with the Jesuit Marquette University in Milwaukee, USA, the St Xavier’s Gait lab is being run in association with independent pediatric orthopedic doctors. It will be officially inaugurated on Wednesday.

Dr Atul Bhaskar, a pediatric orthopedic doctor associated with the lab, said, “A gait analysis is for the legs what ECG is for the heart. It provide real-time analysis of legs during movement which cannot be seen by naked eyes.”

Explaining the process, Mayuri Gad, biomechanist at the lab, said, “We use cameras and position marks to capture data such as calculating how the patient’s joints bend and the body moves as the patient walks. The force plate embedded in the floor is used to measure how the patient’s foot supports the body weight. The software then calculates the torque and power generated by the patient’s joints during walking. The motion analysis from the lab assists in identifying specific gait deviations which may be due to impairments such as muscle weakness, abnormal muscle tone, static or dynamic muscle contracture, abnormal joint position, or reduced range of motion.”

As the lab depends heavily on complex technology; it constantly requires technological support. Pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr Chasanal Rathod said, “It helps bring precision in surgery or treatment. But the rigorous technology support along with niche manpower requirements makes it difficult to operate them. In the past, gait labs were opened at a few places but they couldn’t run for long.”

The engineering institute comes into the picture at this stage as its students come from multiple branches of engineering — computer science, IT, electronics and telecommunication, among others – and can help with their inputs.

Director of the Institute, Father Dr John Rose, S J, said, “Our students and faculty members are closely working with the lab to provide technological support. It is in fact a mandatory project in the final year for all students, while others also contribute. The students, under teacher’s guidance, are involved in tasks such as maintenance of software and creating new programmes to make sense of the huge data gathered through technology. The idea is to create awareness about gait among public at large by making the service available at affordable costs.”

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The students are also working towards creating a database focusing on the Indian population for an accurate gait analysis. “Considering that this is not a widely used technology, the technology uses data of Caucasian nationalities developed by western countries for references to identify deviations. A comprehensive data of Indians will help bring forward more accurate assessment,” said Gad.

Pallavi Smart

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