Vicon celebrates accelerated growth in Life Sciences with the addition of new customers

OXFORD, UK – June 4, 2015 – Motion capture technology specialist, Vicon, has announced growing momentum in the life sciences sector with several recent customer wins. Research and education facilities including Saint Francis University, Ohio University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of Minnesota Duluth have all recently invested in Vicon systems to achieve optimum quality motion capture data for movement research.

“Highly accurate and reliable capture and analysis of motion data is absolutely critical to research institutions and what they can accomplish,” said Imogen Moorhouse, CEO at Vicon. "These universities join the growing number of research centers, hospitals and private medical practices around the world who are putting Vicon systems on the frontline of cutting-edge clinical movement research."

The Department of Physical Therapy at Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania has invested in Vicon’s Nexus 2 and Polygon 4 software alongside eight Bonita cameras for research projects on joints of the lower extremities. The Vicon system helps improve their research by producing data that gives them valid and reliable information rather than observational data.

Curtis Kindel, associate professor of physical therapy at Saint Francis University, said: “We wanted a portable system to enable us to capture 3D joint positions, velocity, and accelerations. Vicon systems are at the forefront, and not many universities of our size have this type of equipment. Vicon also has a great reputation in terms of reliability, quality and performance.”

Ohio University’s School of Rehab and Communication Sciences uses Vicon motion capture systems integrated with Innovative Sports Training’s MotionMonitor system, giving the university more flexible and efficient motion capture with reduced hardware costs. The school has used the system to create a virtual dodgeball game to reduce the fear of movement in patients who have suffered a serious injury or fall, which can restrict and prolong recovery time.

Professor James Thomas said: “Without the integrated Vicon and IST MotionMonitor system, we wouldn’t be able to provide and track real-time updates to the on-screen avatar. The game helps us determine how people are moving and what needs to be addressed to aid in their recovery and reduce their fear of movement.”

The Sports Medicine Research Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is using Vicon motion capture and Innovative Sports Training’s MotionMonitor systems to research how athletes’ movements can influence their performance and risk of re-injury. The university has also begun a concussion study focused on the balance and neurocognition of athletes, two factors that help sports medicine staff decide when it’s safe for individuals to return to the game.

Darin Padua, director of the laboratory, said: “The integrated Vicon and IST MotionMonitor system has enabled us to look at the whole body and series of functional paths that are important for our research. It also makes it easy to integrate other things you’re using whether it comes to timing lights or trying to trigger seamlessness responses – you can put everything together very simplistically.”

The MMAD (Motion + Media Across Disciplines) Lab at the University of Minnesota Duluth has adopted Vicon technology for a wide range of projects including gait analysis of ballet dancers, tracking maximum velocity of baseball bat swings, and more.

“The Vicon system makes behavioral mechanics analysis easier and gives us different possibilities to do things that we couldn't have otherwise,” said Lisa Fitzpatrick, director of the university’s MMAD Lab.

Other life science customers that have recently adopted Vicon systems include Champion Athleticwear, John Hopkins University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, The College of New Jersey’s Department of Health & Exercise Science, Republic University Uruguay, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil and Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil.

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