13th International Conference on Clinical Biomechanics

Five students currently studying at the Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (TORT Centre) presented their research at the 13th International Conference on Clinical Biomechanics at Staffordshire University on April 23-25, 2015.

Dr Tim Drew was an invited keynote speaker on the design and development of medical devices.

Building on the success of previous years, the conference provided an international forum to discuss lower limb clinical biomechanics and footwear research. The conference focuses on biomechanics of the ‘at risk foot’ and the musculoskeletal biomechanics of the lower limb with a particular interest in the diabetic foot. Keynote speakers from around the world outline the latest developments in the area of pathomechanics and pathology of the foot with a focus on diagnosis and management of patients while highlighting the role of technology in understanding the biomechanical principles.

Four BMSc students and one PhD student presented their current research:

• Erika Bates - Pointe shoes in ballet: what is the pointe?

• Hannah Lawrie - The effect of knee pads on lower limb biomechanics during volleyball

• Luke Dornan - Moonboot: friend or foe?

• Janie Giraudon - Hippotherapy: alleviating CP symptoms at a canter!

• Rania Edris - A study of the effect of ankle foot orthoses on gait in stance

“It was very heartening seeing so many of our students presenting their work at this prestigious international conference. The delegate comments were excellent, encouraging all the students to publish their respective work.” added Dr Drew.

Janie, Luke, Hannah and Erika presenting their BMSc research

Hannah and Janie commented: "It was a really good experience and it was great to hear about all the exciting ideas people have and to see the combination of different healthcare professionals and engineers and doctors all together at the same conference which meant problems being looked at from several different angles. We really enjoyed the conference, it was very exciting to be able to present work that we've been working on for so long and to share ideas with different people. We met a lot of different people from all round the world that have similar interests but yet a completely different outlook on it. There were a lot of interesting talks and we have learnt a lot of things that we didn't know even existed."

Left: Conference Centre; Middle: Rania, Dr Drew, Janie, Luke and Hannah at conference dinner; Right: Dr Drew giving his keynote lecture