Kinematic analysis of the gait of adult sheep during treadmill locomotion: Parameter values, allowable total error, and potential for use in evaluating spinal cord injury.
We are developing a novel intradural spinal cord (SC) stimulator designed to improve the treatment of intractable pain and the sequelae of SC injury. In-vivo ovine models of neuropathic pain and moderate SC injury are being implemented for pre-clinical evaluations of this device, to be carried out via gait analysis before and after induction of the relevant condition. We extend previous studies on other quadrupeds to extract the three-dimensional kinematics of the limbs over the gait cycle of sheep walking on a treadmill. Quantitative measures of thoracic and pelvic limb movements were obtained from 17 animals. We calculated the total-error values to define the analytical performance of our motion capture system for these kinematic variables. The post- vs. pre-injury time delay between contralateral thoracic and pelvic-limb steps for normal and SC-injured sheep increased by ~24s over 100 steps. The pelvic limb hoof velocity during swing phase decreased, while range of pelvic hoof elevation and distance between lateral pelvic hoof placements increased after SC injury. The kinematics measures in a single SC-injured sheep can be objectively defined as changed from the corresponding pre-injury values, implying utility of this method to assess new neuromodulation strategies for specific deficits exhibited by an individual.
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Sina
S
Safayi
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Nick D
ND
Jeffery
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Sara K
SK
Shivapour
Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Mahdi
M
Zamanighomi
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Tyler J
TJ
Zylstra
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA.
Joshua
J
Bratsch-Prince
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Saul
S
Wilson
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Chandan G
CG
Reddy
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Douglas C
DC
Fredericks
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
George T
GT
Gillies
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Matthew A
MA
Howard
D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012756:Sheep / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*
Gait analysis; Neuropathic pain; Ovine model; Spinal cord injury