Upgraded Gait Lab supports NZ children

Since its establishment over 10 years ago the AUT Gait Lab, home of the National Clinical Gait Analysis Service run in conjunction with Starship Child Health, has assessed thousands of children and young people with complex walking issues ahead of treatment or surgery.

Every year AUT’s Gait Lab helps more than 100 children from all over New Zealand with conditions and movement disorders such as cerebral palsy, acquired or traumatic brain injury and spinal cord impairment who are being considered for complex procedures and surgery.

Children with such conditions often have significant gait impairments that negatively impact their walking and activity. This reduced walking ability affects how children participate in activities they enjoy with their friends and whānau, at home, school and in the community.

The sophisticated 3D measurements collected at AUT’s Gait Lab are considered the gold-standard in assessing human walking. In looking at how a child’s body moves, their limb motion, muscle strength, foot pressures, walking ability, as well as their coordination, balance, endurance and power, their clinical team are able to understand how a disease or disability can affect the child’s function and quality of life – and how they can intervene to help. The data obtained is used to plan treatments, such as physiotherapy, orthotic management, or surgical correction.

However, the lab is now very dated, with ageing and unreliable equipment. Amid fears the lab is at risk of becoming an unsafe and unsupportive environment for young, disabled, patients and their families, the AUT Foundation put out the call for donors to support it in its mission to fit the lab out with the most up-to-date assessment equipment.

Work is now underway on future-proofing the facility thanks to the generosity of one of New Zealand’s oldest and most respected Charitable Trusts, The Lion Foundation who provided the initial gift for the project. The funding will allow the Gait Lab to install an extra-long pressure platform that provides accurate, reliable information for the analysis of foot function and diagnosis of foot pathologies by accurately measuring local force and pressure.

Lion Foundation Communications and Engagement Manager, Paul Hayes, says its decision to support the Gait Lab was an easy one.

“The overall project resonated with our trustees.  The struggles faced by tamariki and their families accessing the service is unacceptable, especially considering the daily struggles that these children and their families face.  Investing into improved facilities, and equipment was a ‘no brainer’ for The Lion Foundation,” says Paul.

“However, it is not only the 100 children per year that benefit from the support provide through the distribution of this grant. The trustees considered the benefit to their families, to the hospital and paediatric staff, to improved health outcomes for tamariki that will help shape their lives.  Improving the lives of New Zealanders, young and old, is what drives our decision making.”

AUT Research Officer, Christiana Barker, also an advanced clinician physiotherapist in orthopaedics at Starship, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, says the lab provides incredibly valuable and comprehensive assessment and treatment recommendations for children and young people with complex walking issues.

“We strive to remain current with international best practices and continue to improve how we provide our service within New Zealand. Having up-to-date equipment and a modern and welcoming environment for children and their whānau, who’re attending these clinics, is essential. Donors like the Lion Foundation are helping to support our work, which enables us to keep providing a highly specialised service for New Zealand children and clinicians,” says Christiana.

Professor Peter McNair says the generosity of the Lion Foundation has enabled AUT to acquire the latest technology associated with measurements of loading during gait activities.

“That equipment allows us to be more precise in the reports that we provide surgeons and rehabilitation professionals concerning the forces and torques being generated during the different phases of gait activities.   This in turn allows them to focus their interventions and treatment more effectively and achieve better outcomes for clients,” says Peter.

AUT Fundraiser, Anna Rennie, says the donation is a vital first step in ensuring the unique services of the Gait Lab continue to be provided for the next generation of children in need.

“The incredibly generous donation from the Lion Foundation has meant we are now able to start work on upgrading the facility to not only create a less daunting, more welcoming space for paediatric patients, but provide badly needed upgrades to current equipment that is becoming old and unreliable,” says Anna.

“We are only part way to reaching our fundraising targets to future-proof the Gait Lab and we would be enormously grateful for any further assistance to secure these services for our tamariki.