National researchers and clinicians symposium

National symposium to focus on collaboration between researchers and clinicians

The successful transfer of ideas from the laboratory to the clinic will be the focus of a national symposium at The University of Auckland's Tamaki Campus this week.

The inaugural symposium, Movement Analysis 2004, will be held at Tamaki on February 27 and 28 and will bring together researchers from a number of universities and clinicians nationwide.

Dr Uwe Kersting, from the Faculty of Science's Biomechanics Laboratory, says the symposium was developed to advance knowledge in clinical areas and apply scientific developments to the "real world".

"We want to bridge the gap between the clinical field and the research area and provide a forum for developing new ideas in collaboration," says Dr Kersting.

"Researchers and clinicians can work extremely well together for the benefit of staff and patients. For example, the Biomechanics Laboratory has a good relationship with Auckland's Starship Hospital working with children with cerebral palsy."

As part of the symposium, researchers from the University of Auckland will highlight recent developments in various areas of clinical biomechanics research including: clinical gait analysis for children with cerebral palsy, balance across the age spectrum, efficacy of routine clinical assessments, role of biomechanics in podiatry and injury prevention.

Another highlight of the symposium will be a presentation from Dr Dieter Rosenbaum from the University of Münster, Germany, who will talk about the clinical applications in the treatment of diabetic foot syndrome.

Workshops will also allow participants to get hands-on experience using the equipment at the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at Tamaki, one of the leading centres in Human Movement Analysis in New Zealand.

The University's Tamaki Campus is an inter-disciplinary, research-intensive campus, focusing on a range of themes including health, psychology and sports science. Tamaki's facilities are used by students, academics and external agencies.

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