Happy to help

Here at the TORT Centre we are always keen to assist and encourage medical students from multi-disciplines in any way we can and one student this year, Amy Paterson, took full advantage of the facilities and expertise at the Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (IMAR).

Amy’s undergraduate research was on “Osteoarthritis of the Glenohumeral Joint” which included the development of an animation showing the ranges of motion of the shoulder joint. IMAR uses the latest motion capturing systems, similar to those used in CGI and the gaming industry, and specialises in 3D gait and motion capture, analysis and animation. Dr Graham Arnold, IMAR Technical Manager, was only too happy to demonstrate how the whole process from data collection, to data analysis, through to rendering the 3D animation that Amy used in her dissertation.

Amy recently graduated with BSc(hons) in Physiological Sciences and was also nominated for the Physiological Society Undergraduate prize for her being the top scoring student for the dissertation module.

Amy stated: “I thoroughly enjoyed my project and being able to see what happens in the TORT Centre was brilliant. Your team were so welcoming and helpful which made the project very enjoyable and also hearing more about what sort of research goes on at TORT was great. During this year I also applied to study Medicine and was offered places at four universities. I decided after a lot of thought that I would like to continue at Dundee - so I will be starting as a first year medical student at Dundee University this September! Very pleased to be staying on at Dundee and really looking forward to the next chapter”.

Dr Arnold stated: “It was a joy to work with Amy on this small element of her research project. We would like to think that in some small way Amy’s visit and use of the equipment at IMAR has benefited her in her studies and her success; we wish her every success with her future medical studies here in Dundee. She will always be welcome at the TORT Centre”.

If you would like to know what facilities and hidden treasures are available at IMAR why not drop us an email (ortho@dundee.ac.uk) or have a read through our Services & Equipment Brochure.