Researchers Use Avatar’s Motion Capture Tech to Study Genetic Disorders

(Image: Gabriela Cybulska/Wikimedia Commons) James Cameron’s original Avatar and its new sequel have found success in more than just the box office—they’re also helping out in the lab. Researchers have begun using the motion capture technology used in the saga to track the onset of two genetic disorders, both of which reduce patients’ mobility over time.

Today’s motion capture technology uses wearable sensors—and sometimes painted-on dots—to track an actor’s movement. When Cameron began filming the first Avatar flick, he wanted a way to translate actors’ complex facial expressions into those of the on-screen Na’vi. This prompted New Zealand-based FX studio Wētā FX to iterate on its existing motion capture capabilities, creating an all-new optical solver to track actors’ eyes while building a more accurate facial camera rig. Cameron’s and Wētā’s motion capture technology was capable of far more detail than the systems used in other films.

It turns out that this degree of detail is useful for tracking mobility impairment over time. Friedreichʼs ataxia (FA), a disorder caused by a variant of the Frataxin gene, progressively reduces patients’ cardiac and neurological function. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) works in a similarly gradual way, impacting proximal muscle strength before beginning to weaken the limbs, heart, and respiratory muscles. Because both disorders progress slowly, it’s vital that patients’ symptoms are assessed as early on as possible; it’s only after this that doctors can help form a treatment plan.

(Image: Alan Calvert/Unsplash)

Geneticists and neurologists in the United Kingdom have adapted Cameron’s and Wētā’s highly detailed motion capture technology to track FA- and DMD-related impairment. In a paper published last week in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers describe using wearable sensors and artificial intelligence to capture the severity of these disorders while predicting symptoms’ progression.

Doctors normally have to assess a patient’s FA or DMD progression visually while the patient completes a set of standardized tasks. As one can imagine, this leaves quite a bit of room for error. It’s also incredibly slow: Creating a long-term projection out of multiple assessments takes about two years, which is time that could otherwise be spent on treatment. By attaching motion capture sensors to FA patients’ bodies and pairing those sensors with AI, the researchers found that this timeframe can be cut in half. In a study involving children with DMD, researchers found that the motion capture-AI system could produce a symptom projection in just six months with better accuracy than a doctor.

Given their experiments’ success, the researchers are now seeking approval for the use of motion capture systems in FA and DMD drug trials. If approved, the technology could help reduce clinical trial lengths and costs, incentivizing pharmaceutical companies to research FA and DMD treatments more thoroughly.

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