SRU health diagnostic unit 'like GPS for the body'
Slippery Rock University is moving toward the future.
SRU's College of Health, Environment and Science bought a Noraxon myoMETRICS Portable Lab for $75,000 in January, making it one of only a few institutions in the region to have one.
For use in the doctor of physical therapy program, the Noraxon unit and software will help students better understand the movements of the human body, gather data that will be used in research, and enhance diagnosis and prescription for clinical practice, according to Jerry Chmielewski, dean of the College of Health, Environment and Science.
“We hear from employers that our students have an advantage when they are familiar with equipment that they may use in the field,” Chmielewski said. “Acquiring this new portable lab is a wonderful opportunity for our students to combine the latest technology with traditional methods that are used in a clinical setting.”
The university credits Chris Hughes, SRU professor of physical therapy, with recommending the lab. Hughes uses the same system for his private consulting work.
“(This system) allows me to understand movement really quickly as opposed to a camera picking up a dot on a video,” said Hughes, referring to older techniques of technologically monitoring movement.
Hughes said the new equipment comes in a box no bigger and only slightly heavier than a standard suitcase. He said it reminds him of carry-on luggage.
“It makes me feel like wherever I go, that can be my lab,” Hughes said.
The lab uses 16 sensors placed on the trunks of the limbs, not the joints, and tracking the movement and range of motion. As an added option, therapists can add electrodes to monitor muscle activity. He said these sensors use a combination of gyroscope, a magnetometer and accelerometer to track motion, no matter which way a limb is moved, tilted or rotated.
“It's kind of like GPS for the body,” Hughes said.
Students and faculty can use the system in the classroom and with patients at the Slippery Rock Pro Bono Physical Therapy, an on-campus clinic that provides free services to the public.
Amber Kilgore, an SRU physical therapy graduate student and president of the pro-bono clinic, said the lab would help students working at the clinic better serve their community. She said the technology will help them more accurately understand a movement issue and see progress made with treatment.
“This is sort of like a next-level system to assist with that,” Kilgore said.
Kilgore said it might take some time before the clinic actually uses the lab — and even when they have access, it wouldn't be used every day.
“It's not something that's going to be used in everyday treatment of patients,” Kilgore said.
The clinic has only been officially open for two weeks, Kilgore said.
“It's been a long road coming, but I think it's been going really well. We had to make sure our ducks were in a row, paperwork and legality-wise,” Kilgore said. “We just treated our first patient last week, so it's kind of a big time period for us.”
Hughes said from the clinic's standpoint, it will be good to have software that enhances the treatment of its patients.
“You'll pick up more, and you'll be able to see and put a percentage on improvement of movement,” he said. “The layperson knows when someone is limping, but if you don't know when or how it occurs, it's harder to fix.”
Hughes said working at this level is essential for students preparing for the future of the industry.
Hughes added that it's good for the students to understand what motion looks like in computerized terms and have hands-on experience with the software.
He said when the price falls on the lab, every practice will buy them, and SRU-trained therapists will be one step ahead of their competition by being trained to use the equipment already.
“The technology leads to such a better understanding on how to be a better therapist,” Hughes said.
