In addition to entertainment, the technology used to record Avatar, the highest-grossing film in the history of cinema, might revolutionize the diagnosis of diseases that affect mobility. The screening, treatment and quality of life of patients with muscular dystrophy, for example, can benefit from artificial intelligence.
According to British research published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine on January 17, the motion-capture suits that bring to life the characters in the 2009 film and its 2022 sequel can speed up the diagnosis of motor conditions, which opens doors for more accurate and patient-appropriate treatment.
General practitioner Lucas Albanaz, from Hospital Santa Lúcia, in Brasília, highlights the importance of advancing innovation in medicine. “Technology is much finer and more accurate than the human eye. So, the screening and evaluation of diseases will be much more accurate with this tool. It is an immense evolution and a leap in the quality of patient treatment”, he evaluates.
How it works
It’s no secret that the earlier a disease is identified, the greater and more effective the possibilities for treatment. In motor problems, for example, the diagnostic process involves measuring the speed and precision of gestures that patients perform and, therefore, motion sensors can speed up the process.
“The costume used in the film maps, records and registers the body’s movements. The data will be placed on the Cartesian plane to analyze the organic and physics of the gestures, whether they are fluid or not. This will be compared to a person’s standard movements under normal circumstances. If the activities are different from what is expected, the doctor may understand this as a pathology”, explains the doctor.
The study points out that the system’s approach detects subtle movements that humans cannot capture. Artificial intelligence has the ability to transform clinical trials as well as improve patient diagnosis and monitoring.
Motion analysis was tested in patients with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). However, the study points to the possibility of monitoring other motor problems, from conditions of the brain and nervous system, to diseases involving the heart, lungs, muscles, bones and a series of psychiatric disorders.
Technological advancements
Albanaz points out that the more developments occur, whether advances in information technology or radiology, the more medicine evolves in diagnosis and treatment. “We are in the era of wearables, devices that you can wear during the day like, for example, smartwatches, which can monitor sleep and heart rate,” he notes.
According to him, the Avatar suit is a full-body wearable. With the use of the device, it would be easier to prevent the progression of diseases such as muscular dystrophy.
The doctor highlights not only the possibility of improving the patient’s quality of life, but also the better development of medications. “These are diseases that affect a small part of the population, which makes it difficult to study. With the sensors, we can monitor the patient and check the effects that the medications have,” he says.
Researchers are seeking approval for the use of motion capture to test drugs for AF and DMD in the UK. If approved, drug efficacy research using the technology might begin in two years. Scientists are also collecting data to see if the suits can be used for other diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis.
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