Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Avatar motion-capture technology proven applicable in disease research

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Jan 2023 13:37
3 Min Read

According to experts, the technology might cut in half the time and cost of developing new treatments in clinical trials.

  • x
  • Ronal (L), voiced by Kate Winslet, and Tonowari, voiced by Cliff Curtis, in a scene from
    Ronal, voiced by Kate Winslet, and Tonowari, voiced by Cliff Curtis, in a scene from "Avatar: The Way of Water" (AP)

The motion capture suits used to bring characters to life in films such as Avatar are assisting researchers in tracking the onset of diseases that hamper mobility.

In many circumstances, the sooner such illnesses are diagnosed, the sooner a patient can obtain the necessary care and therapy.

The new device analyzes bodily movements using artificial intelligence.

The UK experts judged the severity of two genetic illnesses twice as fast as the greatest doctors in testing.

According to the experts, it might also cut in half the time and cost of developing new treatments in clinical trials.

The findings were reported in the journal Nature Medicine.

Dr. Valeria Ricotti, of Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health, told BBC News that she was "completely blown away by the results."

"The impact on diagnosis and developing new drugs for a wide range of diseases could be absolutely massive," she said.

The new technology was tested on patients with Friedreich's Ataxia (FA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in two separate studies.

The researchers revealed that the new technique might also be used to track people recuperating from other disorders that impair movement.

Any ailment involving the brain and neurological system, the heart, lungs, muscles, bone, and a variety of psychiatric disorders are included.

Tracking the severity and anticipated course of such disorders typically entails assessing the speed and precision with which patients perform a set of predefined movements in a clinic. This assessment, which is critical for determining what kind of assistance and therapy a patient requires, might take years.

The two studies published demonstrate that the motion capture system can do this faster and more accurately. It was derived from the technology used by filmmakers in the Avatar films to capture the movement of performers in order to portray convincing aliens on screen.

FA usually manifests itself during adolescence and affects one in every 50,000 people, whereas DMD affects 20,000 children, predominantly boys, worldwide each year. There is currently no cure for either condition.

How does it work?

The motion sensor suits were originally tested on FA patients by a team at Imperial College. They discovered that the AI could predict the progression of the disease over a period of twelve months in half the time that an expert would normally take.

A separate team at Great Ormond Street Hospital tested the technology on 21 boys with DMD aged five to 18. It predicted their movement six months in advance considerably more correctly than a doctor could.

The researchers believe that their technique might be used to accelerate and reduce the cost of clinical trials for novel medications for a variety of illnesses.

It may also reduce the cost of testing novel medications for rare genetic illnesses.

Professor Richard Festenstein from the Medical Research Council's London Institute of Medical Sciences, said, as quoted by BBC News, that "the suit technology, which he helped to develop, had the potential to change the economics of drug discovery."

Read next: Native Americans call to boycott Avatar over cultural appropriation

  • FA
  • Motion-Capture technology
  • DMA
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Avatar
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS