Motion capture suits that bring characters from the movie Avatar to life are helping researchers track the onset of diseases that affect mobility.
The new system uses artificial intelligence to analyze body movements.
In many cases, the faster these conditions are diagnosed, the faster individuals receive appropriate support and treatment.
In two British studies published in Nature Medicine these facts made it possible to define the severity of two genetic disorders, twice as fast as the methods normally used.
The researchers responsible for the projects mentioned that the new method can also greatly reduce the time and cost required to develop new drugs, as it can accelerate research.
Valeria Ricotti, of the Great Ormond Street Institute hospital, told BBC News who was “completely impressed with the results”. “The impact on diagnosing and developing new drugs for a wide range of diseases could be absolutely huge.”
Ricotti was in the group of researchers from Imperial College and University College London (UCL) that passed 10 years developing the new technology. The group tested the motion analysis system on patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), in two separate studies.
The system can also be used to monitor patients with other diseases that affect movement – from conditions involving the brain and nervous system, to those involving the heart, lungs, muscles, bones and a host of psychiatric disorders.
Screen the severity and likely progression of such diseases it usually involves measuring the speed and accuracy with which patients perform a set of standardized movements. That assessment – vital to figuring out what support and treatment a patient needs – can take years.
The two studies published on Thursday show that the motion capture system can do this much faster and more accurately.
The system was adapted from the technology used by filmmakers to capture the movement of actors in the first Avatar film. In film, motion capture is used to help create more realistic characters with computer graphics.
Professor Aldo Faisal, from Imperial College, was one of the scientists who had the idea of using technology in medicine. “Our new approach detects subtle movements that humans cannot detect. It has the ability to transform clinical trials as well as improve patient diagnosis and monitoring.”
AF usually appears in adolescence and affects one in every 50,000 people. DMD affects 20,000 children a year worldwide. Currently, there is no cure for either condition.
The Imperial College team tested motion-sensing suits for the first time on patients with AF. The researchers found that this technology can predict the rate at which the disease gets worse over a twelve-month period – that sounds like a long time, but it is half the time it would normally take to diagnose.
The Great Ormond Street hospital team tested the technology on 21 boys with DMD, aged between five and 18 years. In six months, the system was able to predict how its movements would be affectedwith much more precision than a doctor.
The researchers believe that the new system can be used to speed up and reduce the cost of clinical trials to test new drugs, increasing the chances that the pharmaceutical industry will invest in research.
“We will be able to test more drugs, with fewer patients and at a lower cost,” explained Professor Paola Giunti, head of the Ataxia Center at UCL.
In the case of DMD, at least 100 patients are currently needed, analyzed over 18 months, to obtain significant results regarding the effectiveness of a new drug. The study with the motion sensor showed that with this system the clinical test could be done with 15 patients, in six months.
About 6,000 rare genetic diseases that affect mobility affect a small number of patients, which makes pharmaceutical companies not want to invest in expensive clinical tests to develop new drugs.
Professor Richard Festenstein, of the Medical Research Council at the Institute of Medical Sciences in London, told BBC News that the fact technology, which he himself helped to develop, has the potential to change the economic scenario regarding the discovery of new drugs.
“This goes attract the pharmaceutical industry to invest in rare diseases. The main beneficiary of our research will be the patients, because the technology will be able to create new treatments much faster”, he indicated.
Investigators have already sought approval for the use of motion capture for drug trials for AF and DMD in the UK. If approved, testing could begin in two years. The team is also collecting data for its use in screening for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
ZAP // 
