Collaborating with Vicon at the DMRC Biomechanics Performance Lab

The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) opened its doors last year at the newly-completed Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) at Stanford Hall. This state-of-the-art facility for servicemen and women replaces Headley Court, which was decommissioned in September 2018.

Summit Medical and Scientific were pleased to collaborate with Vicon at the DMRC’s Biomechanics Performance Lab.

The Biomechanics Performance Lab offers Ministry of Defence therapists access to some of the most sophisticated and precise tools available to assess and treat conditions and injuries affecting gait and balance. Clinicians can use the laboratory’s powerful force plate technology and cutting-edge motion capture system to gather and analyse patient data, ensuring the highest quality of care and progress for military personnel. Researchers can also use this new facility to study key areas in military rehabilitation, as part of the Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation (ADMR).

The AMTI force plates installed in the Biomechanics Performance Lab use OPTIMA technology, which is the most accurate force platform available and offers a 10-fold improvement over any other force platform available today. The installation included 11 OPT400600-HF High Frequency plates for a walkway, and 4 OPT400600 for a walkway with force plate stairs. Read more about OPTIMA force plate technology here.

The Biomechanics Performance Lab incorporates Vicon motion capture cameras to record the movement of markers down to the millimetre, allowing the movement of a patient to be assessed far beyond what the naked eye can see. Ten additional Vicon Vue high-speed HD cameras positioned around the lab record the patient through traditional video. Vicon also installed a Cortex gas analysis system to measure oxygen consumption and energy expenditure, and an isokinetic dynamometer for evaluating and training muscular strength.

You can read more about Vicon’s activities at Stanford Hall on their case study page.

Summit Medical and Scientific also installed Europe’s first High End Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) with our partner Motek, which also incorporates Vicon cameras for accurate gait and balance analysis. Read more here.