Childrens Orthopaedic Center

Care Provided by the Center Video length: 13:54

Director:  Vernon T. Tolo, MD

Inside the John C. Wilson, Jr., Motion Analysis Laboratory at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, cameras are braced on every wall and sensor blocks dot the floor. As youngsters walk about, computers like those used for film animation recreate their gaits in moving 3D images.

By seeing a full range of joint and muscle activity occur simultaneously, surgeons can identify multi-level problems and design one, all-encompassing surgery. Studies have shown that fully 89% of preoperative plans change when surgeons utilize motion analysis.

“This diagnostic tool is invaluable for patients who otherwise would have multiple operations to correct one problem at a time,” says Tishya Wren, PhD,* director of research for the Motion Analysis Laboratory.

Yet even the best insurance policies often exclude motion analysis as a reimbursable test. Now Dr. Wren is in the fourth year of a five-year randomized study designed to document that motion analysis can improve surgical outcomes.

Working with doctors at Shriners Hospitals for Children—Los Angeles who want access to the insights from motion analysis, Dr. Wren provides a gait analysis report on half of their patients who have cerebral palsy, which is characterized by poor muscle control and movement abnormalities. If her study proves that the sophisticated analysis leads to better outcomes, then insurance providers may be more inclined to reimburse for it—and patients can gain from more appropriate, better surgeries.

Research Focus

The Childrens Orthopaedic Center is the largest and most comprehensive pediatric orthopaedic program in the western United States and one of the top five in the nation.  Each year, the Center receives nearly 18,000 visits from children and performs close to 1,600 surgical procedures, making it one of the busiest areas at Childrens Hospital.  Many of these cases involve traumatic injuries and severe musculoskeletal problems – especially scoliosis and other pediatric spine disorders – that can have devastating consequences for children throughout their lives.