Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2000)
UO yields medical research ■An open house showcases the work of three professors and their doctoral students By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald Doctoral student Ji-Hang Lee placed a skintight swimmer’s cap over his head and calmly sat down while professor Paul von Donke laar charged a magnetic pulse ma chine. Von Donkelaar used mark ings on the cap to find exactly which part of the brain he wanted to stimulate and then gave Lee a slight charge of magnetic energy directly to the brain. Lee’s fingers twitched involun tarily, and he gave a big smile to those gathered around him — it was just another day in the motor control lab. “It’s nothing,” Lee said. “Just a little twitch.” Von Donkelaar’s exhibit of his research was just one part of an open house held by the depart ment of exercise and movement science. The event, held last week, showcased the work of von Donke laar and professors Li-Shan Chou and Christopher Minson. Chou is developing imaging technology to further biomechanics research, and Minson is studying cardiovas cular systems. While students go home this holiday break, these researchers will keep at the work they carry out the rest of the year. Louis Osternig, head of the divi sion of graduate studies, said the department offered the open house to introduce members of the local health community to the re searchers and their work. “They’re bringing new areas of experience to the department, and we wanted to showcase that,” he said. Minson and Chou have both came to the University from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Von Donkelaar is using the mag netic pulse machine to study what parts of the brain are key in hand eye coordination. By charging spe cific areas of the brain with mag netic energy, he can perturb those areas for milliseconds. Judging how a patient does in hand-eye co ordination tasks after receiving a pulse can tell von Donkelaar what parts of the brain play a role in en abling a person to perform those tasks. He does this by tracking eye activity during the test. Adam Amato Emerald Doctoral students Jeanne Laugan (left) and Jessie Chen use a hydraulic platform to study how people regain their balance. Their work is used in treating stroke patients. “What we show is that the nor mal eye influence is disrupted, and from that we infer what brain parts play a role in the interac tion,” he said. Part of the work with the brain study can also be applied to study ing how a stroke affects a person, but another project in von Donke laar’s lab can be directly applied to helping stroke victims recover. Laura Adomaitis, a doctoral stu dent working with von Donkelaar, demonstrated a device the depart ment is using to help stroke vic tims recover some of their balance. Using a hydraulic platform, the re searchers are able to analyze how stroke patients respond to losing their balance. Adomaitis said a patient is strapped to a harness, which is connected to a beam above the platform. The platform then shifts and sensors strapped to the pa tient’s muscles and connected to a computer tell researchers how the patient adjusts to the shifting plat form. Information gathered in the experiments is then incorporated into treatment therapies for the stroke victims. “This gives us a lot of informa tion,” Adomaitis said. “We’ve trained four subjects and the re sults are very positive.” While those in the motor control lab help people regain their move ment, professor Chou is studying exactly how people move. His lab is using the newest imag ing technology to study the me chanics of common movement. Chou and his assistants then use this information to study how dif ferent forces created by movement affect human joints. “We know when you walk or run or jump how much force is put on the joints,” he said. By using special cameras and re flective sensors placed on a per son’s body, Chou is able to create a simple re-creation of how that per son moves. This re-creation pro vides a vital visual resource for physicians to understand what the forces do to a person’s movement. “If you just show the numbers, that doesn’t make so much sense,” he said. Chou said the next step in the research is to take the simple re creation and turn it into an anima tion. Then researchers could input obstacles into the animation to un derstand how a patient would deal with those obstacles. While this technique has not yet been devel oped, Chou is confident that it will come soon. Professor Minson is studying how heat waves often have deadly consequences for the elderly. To do this, he uses a special suit that can dramatically lower or raise a per son’s core temperature. He then uses special sensors to examine how the body responds to the tem perature changes. Although the researchers have made some breakthroughs in their fields, they all acknowledge there is still work to be done. Holiday gift options abound ■ Items on college students wish lists this year range from Dreamcasts to hard cash Nick Kulmac for the Emerald Surprise — talking fish and scooters are hot gifts this year, and the holiday shopping season is in full swing. The stores are packed with spirited shoppers. Grand mothers are throwing sharp el bows in Mervyn’s. Children are getting mugged for their PlaySta tion2s, and Furbys, last year’s big hit, are on clearance at Rite-Aid. All the new gizmos are on the shelves, and that means goodbye savings account. So what do college students want this holiday season? Kate Garoutte-Smith, a sales em ployee at Spencer Gifts in the Gateway Mall, said the big sellers ; his year for the age group are lava mips, fart machines and singing . h. ’hose are our top sellers by far this year,’ Garoutte-Smith said. “Scooters are also pretty big this season.” Deven Morganstern, a junior po litical science major, said electron ics are at the top of his list. “A home entertainment system would be real nice, but that’s prob ably a little pricey,” he said. Employees at Game Crazy in the Gateway Mall said Sega Dream casts are selling quickly. “Lately, we have been selling at least one Dreamcast every day,” said Patrick Leonard, a Game Crazy employee. “And as far as games go, Shenmue and Tony Hawk 2 are the ones everyone wants.” Not all students are interested in high-tech toys. Britton Kiefer, a junior psychology major, said he wants gifts that take him to the outdoors. “I’m asking for a surfboard for the summer, and some warm clothes I can wear outdoors during winter,” Kiefer said. *. m’t even know what to ask for. “I have no idea what I want this year,” said Ben Cordell, an unde clared freshman. For many students, money tops their wish lists. Wishfully thinking students also said they wouldn’t mind receiving cars, computers, car stereos with CD players or some leather pants. Where do you go to get all this stuff? The malls have most of the items. If you can’t stand the packed aisles, screaming children and crowded stores, you might want to try shopping online. Online shop ping offers competitive prices and just about every store you can think of without the craziness of going out. With this in mind, you are ready to go shopping for the college stu dents on your list or for yourself. If these suggestions don’t spark any ideas, or you can’t afford any thing listed, try a Chia Pet. You can’t go wrong there. Eugene's Specialty Snowboard Shop 245 Blair Blvd. 349-0087 10% with this ad! www.snowtraders.com Fine Latin style entrees in our friendly atmosphere CELEBRATE MID WINTER CAF€ NAVARRO IP 454 Willamette St. 344-0943 §«: 0035421 We ship your stuff home! Take advantage of our Student Discounts Furniture, computers, stereos, TV's Insured, custom packing — UPS, Ocean Freight, Motor Freight H At®.1* vrr» ca»e 344-31062705 wiiiamette st (convenient parking) ITerno' FIRESTONE GREAT DEALS! Mon-Fri: 7-6; Sat 8-6; Sun: 10-5 payment ~ SsJb OIL CHANGE & FILTER 1 Install new filter 1 Includes refill of up to 5 quarts Kendall® KAMO motor oil 1 Lubricate chassis (if applicable) $Q99 ZjF Plus $2.00 DisposaJ fee Most Vehicles. With Coupon Expires Jan, 28,2001 4 TIRE ROTATION Increases lire Life! For smoother ride longer tire wear. Plus we inspect tire tread, air pressure, vafve systems *19 99 ist Vehicles. With Coupon. Expires Jan. 28,2001 ALL WHEEL ALIGNMENT Computerized check & printout of castor, camber & toe alignment angles compared to manufacturer's specifications. Includes: steering/suspension check. $OQ99 THRUST $4Q9T * *P 4 WHEEL Most Vehicles. With Coupon. _^^xpiresJaa2!L200j_^ MAINTENANCE TUNE-UP $34" 99 8 CyL $49" TYansverse V-6 engine $29 00 Add Platinum plugs & A/C interference extra. Most Vehicles. With Coupon. Expires Jan, 28,2001 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SERVICE • Install new filter & pan gasket • Clean pan • Refill with new fluid *49 99 Plus $2.00 Disposal fee Most Vehicles. With Coupon. Expires Jan. 28.2001 COMPLETE RADIATOR SYSTEM FLUSH 1 Inspect system & pressure test for leaks ' Chemically flush & clean system ' Refill with correct amount of recycled coolant 1 Add sealant/lubricant *49 99 Most Vehicles. With Coupon. ^^xgresJar^S^OO^^ Winter Value Package 1. COMPLETE RADIATION SYSTEM FLUSH • Test for leaks • Flush and clean system • Refill with correct amount of recycled coolant • Add sealant/lubricant 2. OIL CHANGE A FILTER • Refill up to 5 quarts Kendall® IOW-30 motor oil 3. 4 TIRE ROTATION 4. COMPLETE VEHICLE INSPECTION IRQ! 99 Plus $2.00 Disposal fee Most Vehicles. With Coupon Expires Jan, 28,2001_ TWO LOCATIONS firestone 185 E. 11TH: 345-1593 TO SERVE YOU! 310 VALLEY RIVER CENTER: 342-4300 ArvewcAS home rOf< r ses $ service Recycle • flecyele • Recycle • Recycle
