The Wasserman Gait Lab at Sinai Hospital provides highly specialized insights for patients with walking disorders. Leveraging clinician expertise and cutting-edge equipment, we assess a patient’s baseline mobility and function to help clinicians personalize their treatment plans and set a standard for monitoring clinical outcomes. This advanced but patient-centered approach generates unique data that offers valuable information unavailable elsewhere.
Our team is trained to administer a range of biomechanical assessments for patients with orthopedic or neuromuscular conditions. Combining these tests allows us to provide a comprehensive assessment of walking function for neuromuscular and complex lower extremity musculoskeletal patients, which ultimately informs their rehabilitative treatment.
We use motion capture technology to measure joint movement and forces during walking. For patients with spasticity or increased muscle tone, we add dynamic EMG equipment to measure muscle activity during functional movements and walking. We can also assess prosthetic alignment in lower limb amputees to measure their prosthesis' efficiency and help optimize their K-level. Our dynamic foot pressure measurements aid ankle and foot specialists in evaluating foot imbalances caused by conditions like metatarsalgia, club foot and Charcot-Marie-Tooth.
This detailed physical examination assesses joint range of motion, muscle strength, muscle tone and other factors relevant to mobility and function.
During this assessment, infrared cameras are used to track the movement of markers taped in alignment with a patient’s skeleton. The resulting measurements allow our clinicians to calculate the patient’s joint movements and body alignment during motion. Force plates embedded in the floor also measure ground forces and allow for evaluation of weight distribution and strength of propulsion. Markerless software is available for efficient general assessments as needed.
We measure muscle activity in the legs using small amplifiers taped to the skin. While the patient walks, those amplifiers provide insights into muscle function.
Thin sensors placed under the patient's feet measure pressure distribution during walking, aiding in treatment planning and orthotic prescriptions.
We provide video footage of a patient's walking in sagittal and frontal planes to visually confirm other data. Temporal-spatial information allows for a quick assessment of overall walking health.
For patients referred to the lab for knee assessment, we have specific instrumentation that precisely measures knee movement during treadmill walking. This technology evaluates knee function and can be used to support a clinician's assessment of movement deficiencies or orthopedic disease progression to better fine-tune a patient-specific treatment plan.
With the insights generated at the Wasserman Gait Lab, patients and their clinicians can develop customized treatment plans for conditions like:
Assessment of gait by this sophisticated technique is relatively new, and not all insurance plans cover the expense of this test. Our gait laboratory staff can assist you in determining whether this assessment technique is covered by your insurance plan.
