Kinect camera ‘could aid assessment of movement difficulties’

The monitoring of movement difficulties associated with certain diseases could be enhanced by the use of a commonly-used gaming peripheral, a new study has shown.

Research from McGill University has identified this as a new medical application for Kinect, a motion-sensing camera for use with Xbox consoles and Windows PCs that is able to track a user's movement in three-dimensional space.

For this test, they assessed whether Kinect could detect the differences in the gait of multiple sclerosis patients compared to healthy individuals – an evaluation that currently relies on the subjective judgement of individual doctors.

They captured the movements of ten multiple sclerosis patients and ten control subjects, before developing computer algorithms that quantified specific gait characteristics that were able to accurately determine the person's level of gait abnormality.

It is believed that this framework could also be used for other conditions causing movement difficulties, such as Parkinson's disease.

Study leader and McGill University postdoctoral fellow Farnood Gholami said: "This tool may help the clinician provide a better diagnosis of gait pathology, and may be used to observe if a prescribed medication has been effective on the gait of the patient or not."

With over 20 years of experience within the science market, we at Zenopa have the knowledge skill and expertise to help find the right job for you. To find out more about the current science roles we have available, you can search for the latest job roles, register your details, or contact the team today.