GAIMS: a powerful gait analysis system satisfying the constraints of clinical routine

GAIM

GAIMS: A Reliable Non-Intrusive Gait Measuring System

peer reviewedGait observation and analysis can provide invaluable information about an individual [1]. Studies that have interpreted gait using traditional imaging devices have demonstrated that it is difficult to make reliable measurements with colour cameras. GAIMS, our new system resulting from a multidisciplinary project born from collaboration between engineers and neurologists, aims at developing non-intrusive and reliable tools to provide quantitative measures of gait and interpretations of the acquired data. Following a current trend in imaging, it takes advantage of imaging sensors that measure distance instead of colour. While its principles are general, GAIMS is currently used for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and the continued evaluation of disease progression [2]. It is the first available system to fully satisfy the clinical routine and its associated constraints.GAIM

A new low-cost and non-intrusive feet tracker

Capturing gait is useful for many applications, including video-surveillance and medical purposes. The most common sensors used to capture gait suffer from significant drawbacks. We have therefore designed a new low-cost and nonintrusive system to capture gait. Our system is able to track the feet on the horizontal plane in both the stance and the swing phases by combining measures of several range laser scanners. The number of sensors can be adjusted according to the target application specifications. The first issue addressed in this work is the calibration: we have to know the precise location of the sensors in a plane, and their orientations. The second issue addressed is how to calculate feet coordinates from the distance profiles given by the sensors. Our method has proven to be robust and precise to measure gait abnormalities in various medical conditions, especially neurological diseases (with a focus on multiple sclerosis)

Multimodal evaluation of gait and stride dynamics in relapsing and progressive forms of multiple sclerosis

Ambulation measures are being increasingly recognized as highly relevant to the quantification of multiple sclerosis (MS) severity and response to treatment. Feet paths are highly informative for gait analysis and we have recently designed a new system, which captures the position of the feet in real time. We use several range laser scanners (RLS) to analyze a horizontal slice of the scene in which each foot is considered as a point, and the vertical movements are ignored. Neat ambulation measures may be easily extracted such as walking speed, distance between feet over time, swing phase duration, and gait asymmetry in specific settings of walking recommendations. Our RLS platform is much cheaper than existing sensor-based and motion capture systems and may be more convenient for the development of multicentric clinical trials settings since patients can be easily and rapidly assessed without tags or sensors in the hallway of an outpatient clinic. We use 4 BEA LZR-i100 RLS arranged in a corridor of at least 10m long and 4m width, devoid of obstacle. The scanned plane is chosen to be located at 15 cm above the floor, which is right above the tibio-tarsal joint of the ankle in a barefoot configuration for adult individuals in stance phase. We expect further studies to validate and empower the meaning of non-intrusive RLS-derived gait measures that should pave the ground for major improvements in the way we will assess the efficacy of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs), physical therapy and symptomatic interventions on walking impairment, ataxia and fatigability in MS. RLS-derived gait measures may also reveal to be crucial in the near future for the development of treatments that would specifically target progressive forms of MS

La Vitamine D connecte la lumière aux gènes dans la sclérose en plaques

peer reviewedThe relationship between sunlight exposure and the incidence of multiple sclerosis and the understanding of immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D triggered, in recent years, a broad range of investigations. Immunological studies performed in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated how tolerogenic vitamin D can be. Epidemiological studies confirmed an increased incidence of multiple sclerosis in vitamin D deficient subjects and signs of increased disease activity in such MS patients. Although small-scale observational studies have suggested a beneficial impact of vitamin D supplementation on the incidence and severity of multiple sclerosis, large scale clinical trials remain warranted to confirm these preliminary results

Deciphering Distance-Induced Deceleration of Gait and Ataxia in People with Multiple Sclerosis

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Pharmacological strategies in the modulation of central nervous system activity

There are multiple pharmacological targets in the central nervous system. After reviewing the synaptic physiology and the major neurotransmitter molecules, this article describes the main strategies used in neuropharmacology. The concept of specificity in the central nervous system is discussed, and allows a distinction between drugs according to the degree of specificity of their action. A catalogue of pharmacological targets is presented with therapeutic examples, and an emphasis on new agents having an original mechanism of action or acting on new targets