The primary function of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department (RMD) is to diagnose and treat patients who have a dysfunction in locomotion, activities of daily living, occupational or avocational roles, communication, deglutition or experience chronic pain, with a goal of helping patients achieve their maximal level of function in order to optimally perform everyday activities. The RMD Screening protocol affords staff an opportunity to pilot new tests, techniques, therapeutic modalities, technology, or equipment that have very low or no risk. Such media may be commonly used in rehabilitation practice, but are being tested at NIH in a population that is different from the traditional. This protocol is designed for pilot work, and data generated from the pilot projects may be used, for example, to generate a protocol or to assure investigators of the ease/usefulness of the assessment, technology, or equipment. The RMD Screening protocol was used to pilot the following projects: 1) Comparing the relationship between the 9-minute Run Test performed on a 50m indoor corridor to a 220m indoor track in 7 to 10 year old healthy children, 2) Optimization of orthotic treatment, 3) Pilot study to measure navicular drop in persons with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Interrater and intrarater reliability, 4) Pilot study to examine the feasibility of using an Accelerometer to measure activity levels in pediatric patients with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, and 5) Ultrasound of subcutaneous tissue and quadriceps musculature in normals.
