Gait Analysis - Read more
The field of equine biomechanics research is very active and growing; by understanding more about the way horses move (both in health and disease) gait analysis can help clinicians to better diagnose, treat and manage the equine athlete for both improved welfare and optimised performance.
The veterinary clinicians at Oakham Veterinary Hospital and the University of Nottingham are using the EquiGait system. The system includes either 5 or 8 inertial measurement units (IMUs) which are attached to various part of the horses body during a lameness examination. Data from the sensors is wirelessly streamed to a laptop for processing and analysis. The system quantitively measures the degree of asymmetry shown during the examination, which correlates to degree of lameness. It is noteworthy however that symmetry does not always equate to soundness and asymmetry does not always correlate with lameness. Because of this, it is extremely important that the results of analyses are interpreted and acted upon with sound clinical reasoning.
In the hospital the system is able to detect asymmetries which are not visible to a clinicians eye. It can be a particularly useful tool when working with low grade or multi-limb lameness cases where it is able to suggest a starting point to the clinician and confirm the responses to diagnostic analgesia (nerve blocks). The data from examinations is stored for comparison with any future examinations so as well as quantifying response to diagnostics on the day the system can also quantify the response to treatments.
It is expected the system will prove useful in analysing the progression of horses over the course of a season. January/ February is the perfect time to establish a baseline gait analysis before a horse enters the competition season and can then be used to monitor small changes in gait as the year progresses. This information can then be used to plan the timing of treatments around your season goals.