Development of technique for measuring muscle activity and knee motion in children with CP

Sammanfattning: Cerebral Palsy (CP) has an impact on muscles and movement. This happens due to brain damage before the age of two years. Either sometimes before birth, during childbirth or after birth. According to hjarnfonden.se, 200 children are added annually in Sweden with CP. People living with CP have these weaknesses for the rest of their lives. CP is not progressive disorder, that means brain damage can’t be repaired but at the same time, it cannot get worse. There are many different motor symptoms, but weakness and reduced muscle control are present in everyone and leads to delayed motor development in children with CP. Therefore, early treatment can help children with CP and increase their life quality. There is no definitive causation for this condition, but scientists are agreed that CP is caused by damage to the brain. This includes physical damage and infection in brain due to reduction of oxygen for some reason and many other causes. The aim for this project is to develop a method to measure the knee angle and muscle activity around the knee of children with CP during normal daily living for longer time periods. This can help physicians and physiotherapists to do follow-ups, and in the long run, find better treatments for these children.