Ellie Bulson: Spinal Cord Injury Research, Week Two

Hello once again! I have to say my second week at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center has been equally exciting, if not more so, than the first. We started off the week with a pretty relaxed day where I got to get some reading done and meet about our plan for the next five weeks. I was assigned to create a Gantt Chart for the project ahead, which allows you to visualize the road ahead, using tasks to break down the overall goals and create a sort of timeline. After deciding on the key tasks and realizing that it is impossible to perfectly schedule for something that isn’t happening for another month, I created my chart outlining what each person on my team has to do and when it should be done by. Not to mention I learned how to navigate Excel which was a feat in and of itself. Next, I was assigned to write a report outlining the research I have been doing using the readings on the inertial measurement units (IMUs) I have come to know very well. Before I knew it, it was 4 o’clock and I was able to head home to spend some time with my host family who I would be leaving very soon, and just like that my second Monday was gone.

Saying goodbye to Angus and Graham 🙁

From then on my week got very busy and fairly rewarding. Tuesday started off the exciting portion of my week with an experiment. I had to be there by 7:30 am in order to help Nick (my supervisor) set up and calibrate. With Nick’s partner in crime, Laura, gone for the week I had to step up and attempt to fill some big shoes and lighten the load on Nick. So, as a small team, we ran around collecting everything we needed and began setting up and calibrating for our 8:30 experiment. After some minor setbacks, involving a very stubborn printer, we got started. Our participant of the day was a healthy control which was going through a Supine FNPA. Supine, meaning lying down, and FNPA, standing for Functional Neurophysiological Assessment, we were measuring his muscle activity with him lying down to use as a comparison to children with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Once the experiment was done I worked on some more reading, and waited for my fellow intern, Mahima, to come in. With Mahima, we headed back down to the PEDS (pediatric) lab to do some more practice so the preceding experiments could go even smoother, and so Nick didn’t have to completely cover the duties of Laura. We also got to go into the adult lab for some training using another instrument used for tracking and quantifying motion that employs KESTREL, an optoelectric system.

The dummy and I with some marker balls

Wednesday was by far the most hectic and interesting day. Once again we were there by 7:30, and once again we fought the printer for 30 minutes before we were able to set up. We had two back to back healthy controls, a 30-minute break for lunch, then an experiment with a child with an SCI. Luckily, Mahima got there early so the trio (Nick, Mahima, and I) ran the experiment, along with Goutam and Anastasia, two Post-Doctoral Associates, who were testing their own equipment throughout the course of the first two experiments. With all the new equipment that was being used, children that were not exactly familiar with the Xsens (the IMU we are currently validating) protocol, and some frustrating technical difficulties the experiments didn’t exactly go as smoothly as we had hoped for, yet, through it all, we were all laughing and learning. After a quick break, we began our third experiment of the day, another UE (upper extremity) FNPA on a slightly older kid that has been going through therapy for an SCI. While we were still collecting data, this experiment mainly served as a sort of progress report for the participant, as he had gone through the same procedure a year ago. Him being older, and familiar with the experiment made it especially easy and I was home early, to get a head start on my move to a new host family.

Our Xsens monitor! Feat. Nick and José

Thursday, we once again had two back to back Supine FNPAs, so we had to be there by 7 am to get it all set up. After the trials and tribulations of the last couple of days, we were more than prepared for the experiments ahead, which went smoother than ever. We finished nice and early which gave me plenty of time to begin revising my Gantt chart to make it even easier to read, and to include more tasks as to make it as detailed as possible. The rest of the day went fairly smoothly as I completed some more readings in preparation for a presentation later next week.

By the time Friday came around the week had flown by and just like that my second week is done. The day was quite normal as I did some reading, and got the chance to start learning how to analyze some of the data we had been collecting. By aligning the experiment video with our EMG (electromyography) recordings I was able to track which muscles were responding to the movement and compare them to the EMG recordings of a child without a spinal cord injury to see if the muscle activity was normal.

The concrete jungle surrounding KSCIRC

As for my after work activities, I went to Costco for the first time and got to know my new host family. Unfortunately, had to say goodbye to the sweetest host family in the world, who left for a month-long road trip, but we made plans to meet up at the pool as soon as they get back so we can hear all about just how flat Kansas is. Luckily, my new host family is equally as sweet and are just as excited to have us as we are to be there. My experience so far has been absolutely phenomenal, and I have been blessed to work and live with some of the kindest, most amazing people I’ve met. I look forward to the weeks ahead!