New anti-gravity treadmill being tested at Scripps
Scientists at the Shiley Center for Orthopedic Research and Education (SCORE) at Scripps Clinic are conducting a study to test a new anti-gravity treadmill used for rehabilitation. They are gathering data from patients with a unique artificial joint called the electronic knee, or e-knee. The prosthesis contains transducers that measure actual forces inside the knee.
“The e-knee is unique in the research community and gives us an unprecedented ability to collect data,” said Darryl D’Lima, M.D., Ph.D., laboratory director at SCORE. “Before we created it, information about the amount of force generated in the knee by various activities came from untested mathematical formulas.”
SCORE made history in 2004 when Clifford Colwell, M.D., implanted the first e-knee into a patient. Four people now have the prosthesis; all of them are participating in the study, which is led by Colwell and sponsored by rehabilitation device-maker AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill.
The treadmill was built with NASA technology and is available at the Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas rehabilitation center. Designed to simulate a weightless environment, it uses air pressure to lift the patient and reduce gravitational forces on the lower extremities.
SOURCE: Press Release
Related posts:
- Hearst Foundation gives $75K for palliative care nursing education
- Scipps Institution scientists honored
- Scripps professor receives NIH Director's Pioneer Award
- Sea Grants awarded to four local researchers
- Philanthropist, heart valve inventor dies
Short URL: http://www.lajollalight.com/?p=1084
Posted by Halie Johnson
on Aug 27, 2010. Filed under Health & Science, La Jolla, News.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
