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In 2018 we awarded a £10,000 novel research grant to Dr Steven Lo (Plastic Surgeon based at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary) to objectively demonstrate that Functional Muscle Transfer surgery for sarcoma patients can enable a return to physical activities and near normal gait.
The gait of sarcoma patients who received this type of surgery was assessed using 3D gait analysis (left picture). Three-dimensional clinical gait analysis (3DCGA) provides an objective measurement of how an individual walk. This yields several gait-related outcome measures such as walking velocity, step length and gait symmetry.
The patient’s ability to carry out physical activities such as walking and shopping were assessed by the Motek computer-aided rehabilitation environment (CAREN) based at Strathclyde University (right picture). The Motek computer-aided rehabilitation environment (CAREN) is one of only two such facilities in the UK. It provides a safe environment where patients can walk at their own pace through a range of interactive simulated scenes, dealing with real and virtual hazards. This allows clinicians to provide more tangible answers to patients about the return to physical activities.
12 sarcoma patients benefitted from this project which also demonstrated the positive impact of Functional Muscle Transfer surgery for sarcoma patients. Furthermore, the project highlighted the importance of 3D gait analysis and the use of the Motek CAREN environmental simulator during the post-surgery period.
For more information about this project, Email: funding@beatsoncancercharity.org
For further enquiries call our funding team on 0141 212 0505.
