Inside STAT: Hollywood motion capture technology finds a new role in hospital rehab 

(SPAULDING REHABILITATION HOSPITAL)

Motion capture has thus far mostly been confined to Hollywood studios, but the technology — which involves people wearing spandex suits that have ping-pong-like balls attached to them — is now entering the health care space. For movies, those small white orbs, which are actually reflexive markers that infrared cameras track, produce data that are then used to generate realistic movements. Hospitals are now using the technology to analyze movements of patients with conditions that limit movement, like Parkinson’s disease. And instead of visual effects artists translating the data to realistic movement, physical therapists analyze the captured motion to make treatment recommendations. Learn more about this new application in a new video from STAT’s Alex Hogan.