VIDEO - Computer-assisted movement retraining alleviates joint pain

Got knee pain? One of the major causes knee pain is uneven wear and tear on knee cartilage, which leads to arthritis. With support from the National Science Foundation's Human-Centered Computing Program, Stanford University mechanical engineer Mark Cutkosky and his team are alleviating pain by analyzing and changing a person's stride to correct uneven pressure on the knee. The team outfits subjects with scanners that track movement and send signals to a computer, which calculates the forces on the subjects’ joints. This information is used to determine how the subjects should adjust their step. The team has also developed a biofeedback device that vibrates when there is a misstep, helping subjects learn their new gaits.