WHERE DAILY RITUALS GET THE SCIENTIFIC EYE
Improvements to walking, breathing and getting out of bed all under way at iDAPT research centre
The iDAPT Centre for Rehabilitation Research is a downtown-based, cutting-edge workshop, where Toronto Rehab scientists learn more about the “biomechanics” of everyday life. From bathing to walking up the stairs, daily-living exercises are examined under the microscope to create new tools that will help people live longer and more safely in their own homes.
Here’s a look at two areas focused on by specialists at the workshop:
Balance Training Frame
Pushing patients around at the institute’s Balance, Mobility and Falls Clinic isn’t only allowed, it’s encouraged.
Here, physiotherapist deliberately push, pull and bump into their patients to better prepare them for the world’s everyday sudden stops and turns.
Liz Inness, who leads the clinic, calls this “perturbation-based balance training.”
“Our research shows that a predictor of falls is your ability to take a reactive step,” she said. “Imagine you are on an icy sidewalk or in a busy mall and you need to be able to keep your balance, stop and turn quickly.”
Practicing these “rapid stepping reactions” are necessary for easing those healing from disabling injuries back into the community.
To ensure the environment is safe for both parties, the patient is strapped into a safety harness system tethered to an overhead gantry. This allows both parties to practice their routine without the risk of injury.
BresoDx
This diagnostic device can help doctors determine whether or not an individual is suffering from sleep apnea, a common but potentially serious disorder where breathing fluctuates during sleep.
Throughout the night, BresoDx logs various measurements, including head position, sleep time, breath sounds and airflow near the mouth and nose.
Toronto Rehab Institute’s director of research, Geoff Fernie, said the cordless device is a “game changer” for several reasons, particularly its minimalistic design. A thin and light plastic frame means a patient can comfortably undergo the test in their home rather than being hooked up to several machines at a sleep lab overnight.
The data is recorded onto a SD card, which is then shipped off to a diagnostic lab for analysis. Michael Robinson