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Avatar saves lives - 6th February 2023

Motion capture suits used for filming blockbuster movies like Avatar are being employed in the medical field to assist with the diagnosis of genetic disorders.

In a recent study, patients wore sensors on their head and near their joints. The sensors tracked their movements and then used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse readings for any irregularities and predict how the patients might walk in the coming months.

Why is motion capture important? Professor Aldo Faisal of Imperial College, London, one of the project’s originators, said it "detects subtle movements that humans can’t pick up on."

Experts using motion capture and AI diagnosed patients twice as fast as doctors and a leading physician in the field, Doctor Valeria Ricotti admitted she was "completely blown away by the results". Experts tested their system on patients with diseases affecting movement, Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). These are rare genetic diseases. FA affects one in 50,000 people with symptoms appearing during adolescence. Globally, 20,000 children, mostly boys, are affected by DMD. No cure exists for either of these as yet.

The study could encourage the pharmaceutical industry to invest more into studies of rare diseases and the use of motion capture technology. Investors may be discouraged by the rarity of these diseases, although in the UK alone, 1 in 17 people has a rare genetic disorder.

Patients have the most to gain as rapid diagnosis often leads to better treatment. Professor Faisal said, "[Motion capture] has the capability to transform clinical trials as well as improve diagnosis and monitoring for patients."

If they get approval, researchers will implement motion capture into drug trials for DMD and FA in two years. In the meantime, they're gathering data for motion capture’s use for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and multiple sclerosis which may attract further investment.