In this proposal, six NIH-funded faculty members in the Department of Physical Therapy of the University of Delaware are requesting funding to expand and update the state-of the art motion analysis system existing in the Department's Motion Analysis Laboratory (MAL). The Department of Physical Therapy MAL has served as a resource for NIH funded researchers, research scientists, junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students in the Department of Physical Therapy and the Program in Biomechanics and Movement Science for many years. Federally funded research has expanded exponentially in the Department over the past 7 years and substantially more research involving motion analysis is underway. The requested funding will be used to expand the capabilities to serve the needs of the principal investigators and other members of the Department and the University of Delaware movement science community for many years. The rate-limiting phase of our operations is now the full schedule in our motion analysis laboratory. This is limiting to on-going research as well as to the collection of pilot data for new projects, and the training of young investigators. The specific instrument requested in this proposal is a VICON MX System with 8 MX40 cameras with 4.0 Megapixels resolution, real time capability and necessary hardware and software. An 8 camera MX system is ideal for the study of complex arm movements as well as bilateral gait activities because it provides gray scale calculations that improve detection of markers thus eliminating merging markers that can reduce data accuracy. The specific instrument requested in this proposal is a VICON MX System with 8 MX40 cameras with 4.0 Megapixels resolution, real time capability and necessary hardware and software. To accommodate the expanded instrumentation, the University has committed additional space and the Department has committed renovation funds for a 500 ft2 laboratory. The support for the system will be provided by a full-time technician/programmer. The new equipment will expand existing instrumentation in the Department, where it is readily accessible to all of the primary users and the other associated investigators as well. The new instrumentation will dramatically improve the productivity of principal investigators' research, and contribute to providing the best possible training of the next generation of movement scientists from the University of Delaware. ? ?
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