Cerebral palsy, Clinical gait analysis, Musculoskeletal modeling

In my research line, I strive towards a better understanding of movement deviations and their underlying impairments in children with neurological disorders, using musculoskeletal modeling and advanced gait analysis techniques. In this way, I aim to improve diagnostics of gait problems and optimize treatment outcomes.

My research line is focused around three themes: 

1) Understanding pathology and its effect on gait; here we use for instance musculoskeletal modeling, ultrasound techniques and robotic manipulators to understand the pathophysiology of contracture, spaticity, or limitations in motor control and study their effect on gait;

2) Improving diagnostics to better assess gait problems; here we test and implement novel methods of gait analysis for instance in our virtual reality lab, incorporating perturbations, biofeedback and real-time analysis. We are also working on developing and implementing multisegment foot models in clinical practice;

3) Assessing treatment outcomes on gait and identifying predictors for better outcomes; here we evaluate the effects of treatments such as SDR, BoNT-A, AFO's or orthopedic surgery on gait and gait-re;ated outcomes, and we search to identify which treatment works best for which patient.

In my combined function as head of the clinical gait lab at Amsterdam UMC (location VUmc) and senior researcher, I really strive towards integrating research and clinical care. This translational research approach helps us to perform truly patient-oriented research projects and improve health care directly by our research outcomes.