Project Details

Development of a tool harnessing single-view video for computational gait analysis in toddlers

Nicolas Abreu, MD

Summary

BACKGROUND: Pediatric developmental surveillance tools have traditionally been limited by milestones-based approaches, yet more recent models of gross motor development reveals gradual improvements via repetition and failure. Current gold-standard methods to assess gait using pressure-sensor mats are expensive, cumbersome and not generally available to the public. GAP: There remains a critical need to develop objective, accessible measurement of gross motor skill for developmental screening for early recognition of developmental disabilities, as well as monitoring and evaluation of treatment responsiveness for monogenic neurodevelopmental disorders for which novel therapies are being developed. HYPOTHESIS: Our central hypothesis is that videos of young children ambulating can be used to generate clinically relevant kinematic data. METHODS: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of healthy toddlers evaluating their kinematic gait data extracted from video while walking on a straight path compared to synchronized data collected from a gold-standard pressure-sensitive mat. RESULTS: Pending. IMPACT: This work will be extended into validation studies in healthy children of a broader age range, as well as clinical populations with prominent motor disability (e.g., neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorders) for early detection and monitoring of developmental disabilities. Website Link: https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/neurology/research/divisions-centers/neurogenetics