Anna's Muncie Internship

Hal writes:

I spent this past weekend in Indiana visiting Anna. She is currently halfway completed with her fourth internship. As a part of her internship, her CI works along with Ball State University. Anna is pictured below in the motion analysis lab where I got to play guinea pig. The descriptions I give below may be slightly inaccurate as I have forgotten some of the technical terms associated with the work.


The first part of the process was to take a look at how my feet make impact with the ground while running. Next to my shoe is a thin pad with about 600 pressure points that indicate where my foot makes contact, for how long, and how much pressure. You can also tell is someone has proper arch support. You can also see the ankle unit that connects to the pad and wires run to the computer.


With the pads in place, I took some steps up and down the lab. After each series of steps, we downloaded the information into the laptop and were able to watch my pressure points. Anna is reviewing my information below. It may be hard to see, but you on the left side of the screen you can see my left foot with pressure on the toes, front, and heel of my foot as it makes contact with the ground.

Now the fun begins. As you can see, I have been fitted with several indicators on my legs. These were not random placements, each was specifically placed on a joint or some other indication. On the ceiling and below the TV screen are a couple of the many cameras around the room that were filming my motion to provide a 3D analysis of my stride, gait, etc. It's difficult to see on the screen, but there is a side by side image. On the right is a video of me walking and on the left is a 3D image created of my movements. There is a better photo later on of this.

Anna records and observes my movements. Prior to moving around the lab, she had to assign all the censors on my body with their correct label so that the lines were correctly connected in between the dots.

Here is a closer image of the video next to the 3D image. The motion analysis lab can help provide valuable insight to both patients and athletes. The lab is equipped for someone to bring their bicycle in and get an analysis of their motion. Also people can see their running, walking, golf swings, throwing (baseball/football), etc. This is also the technology used to make video games look so real. Athletes are fitted with the same type of censors to turn themselves into video game characters. I asked if Anna could turn my 3D image into a dinosaur, but apparently the lab does not have that type of technology.

Most of the weekend we spent with Anna's cousin and her family in Evansville. It was a nice relaxing weekend spending time with the family and enjoying time playing with their kids and watching movies. One of the activities was going to T-Ball for children under 5. Below are Mia and Cooper with their Dad and Grandpa out in the field (indoor arena). The parents stay with the kids and help them learn the basics of the game (like, which direction first base is).

And, for added fun, we drove five miles south to cross the border. Hi Kentucky!

On the return trip back I volunteered for a later flight in Chicago for some added benefits. Here is a photo of my comp tickets, the cheesecake that was part of my free dinner, and the book my sisters gave me that I read start to finish in the airport.

Mmm... free cheesecake...