Is wearing an Ultrasound device of influence on gait patterns in children?
Babette Mooijekind and Eline Flux published their study results earlier this year. They investigated the influence of wearing an ultrasound device on gait in children with cerebral palsy, and typically developing children. They used Usono’s Probefix Dynamic T for their research.
Why could a probe holder possibly interfere with gait?
Since probe holders are bulky, they could interfere with gait in children. This could bias muscle length changes observed with ultrasound. This study investigated whether the presence of an ultrasound probe and probe holder on the medial gastrocnemius influences the gait pattern. The research team modeled the muscle-tendon unit length in children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children during walking on a treadmill.
The study demonstrated that there was no interference
These researchers found that children, both with cerebral palsy and typically developing children, can largely maintain their gait pattern when walking with an ultrasound probe attached to the lower leg. This seems like good news for future research. Mainly, because it opens possibilities for analyzing muscle-tendon behavior dynamically.
Usono’s probe holder “ProbeFix Dynamic T” was used in this study. ProbeFix Dynamic T is designed to support the linear ultrasound probe of Telemed SmartUS. This combination avoids issues such as muscle compression as much as possible and aligns the probe to the fascicles optimally. In addition, the ultrasound probe of Telemed provides a large field of view.
A probe holder with minimal effect on gait in children and which supports the latest technology, contributes to a better understanding of the similarities and differences of the muscle-tendon unit length in the medial gastrocnemius.
The journal “Gait & Posture” published the research of Babette Mooijekind and Eline Flux of Amsterdam UMC. Request the complete publication here via info@usono.com.
