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Hospital Using Motion Capture Technology To Identify Motor Skill Disorders

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Twin Cities hospital is using Hollywood technology to treat children and teens with motion disorders.

The James R. Gage Center Gait and Motion Analysis Lab at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul uses motion capture technology to study the way patients move and identify problem areas. It's the same kind of concept used in films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings.

"I'm lucky to be alive in a time that we do have this kind of technology," 14-year-old Ellie Goodman, from Oakdale, said.

Ellie was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age two. Her turning point came in 2009, when she was analyzed in the gait lab.

"They've got these little reflecting dots on your major joints," she said.

Doctors are able to track a patient's movement and have it digitally mapped onto a screen. They used it to prepare in rotating Ellie's ankle, her hip, and pelvis before she had major surgery to help her walk easier.

"We can evaluate multiple things at one time," Dr. Tom Novacheck, the lab director, said. "Then if we need to do a surgery we can address five or six things all under one anesthetic."

Today the gait lab treats patients with amputations, brain injuries, conditions that cause toe walking, and cerebral palsy like in Ellie's case. They just opened a new clinic in January to analyze motor delay in even younger children.

Ellie still has physical therapy at Gillette Children's every week. Her family says her disorder may affect her movement, but she doesn't let it slow her down.

"All those things, they make for a very proud parent," Greg Goodman said.

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