SimCP: A Simulation Platform to Predict Gait Performance Following Orthopedic Intervention in Children with Cerebral Palsy

We present a simulation platform that will enable clinicians to evaluate the effect of different treatment options on gait performance in children with cerebral palsy (CP) in order to select the treatment with the highest potential to normalize the patient’s gait pattern. We present a case study to demonstrate the use of the platform. We created a neuro-musculoskeletal model of a 10-year old female child with mild spastic triplegic CP (GMFCS II) who was treated with single-event multilevel surgery based on medical imaging and motion capture data collected before the surgery. Based on this model, we predicted that the treatment would reduce the capability gap, i.e. the torque deficit of the patient with respect to the joint torques needed for normal walking. This prediction was in accordance with the closer-to-normal post-treatment gait kinetics of the child.