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There have been a couple of other stories also published that shed a little light on this:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/school-in-a-state-of-collapse-20100609-xwyb.html
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/what-problem-nsw-health-begs-to-differ-with-doctors-20100609-xwyc.html
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/children-at-risk-of-wrong-surgery-after-testing-service-closes-20100609-xwxx.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Greiner Thomas [mailto:greiner.thom@UWLAX.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 10:30 AM
To: BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL
Subject: Re: [BIOMCH-L] Faulty gait data in the news
I suppose that when Chris Kirtley wrote "I guess this had to happen at some time" he meant that our discipline has grown to the point where it is gaining all types of press. Still, I am made uncomfortable by this news item. Not so because "errors were made by a gait lab" that were not reported to patients and surgeons (as the linked article states), but because the "errors" are never described. What we have here is sensationalist journalism. Perhaps the gait lab at the University of New South Wales is at fault, but we cannot know that from the information presented in this "news" report.
What type of errors were reported? What constitutes an error? Who judged that the data collection was faulty?
Standards in biomechanics have often been proposed (see the ISB standards) and are frequently, dare I say universally, ignored. Who among us follows ISB standards (or some other standard) to the letter? When we depart from the standard it does not mean that we have committed an "error," but rather that the data collection situation required modifications that the standard could not anticipate or that experience tells us that a different data collection method works better.
None of these are "errors" but they will all result in different answers during data collection. So, I have to ask, what makes the Sydney Children's Hospital CEO believe that the University of New South Wales committed errors? This question is especially important since, as the report states "no adverse consequences of any kind were identified."
This style of reporting contains all the characteristics of a witch hunt. As a scientific community, let's be real careful before we start to cast stones.
Thomas M. Greiner, Ph.D.
Anatomist and Physical Anthropologist
Dept. of Health Professions
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601 USA
-----Original Message-----
From: * Biomechanics and Movement Science listserver [mailto:BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL] On Behalf Of Chris Kirtley
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 10:09 PM
To: BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL
Subject: [BIOMCH-L] Faulty gait data in the news
Dear Biomechers,
I guess this had to happen at some time. As far as I know it's the first
time gait data has been questioned in this way?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/09/2922273.htm
Chris
Dr. Chris Kirtley MB ChB, PhD
Woree Family Medical Centre
1/600 Bruce Hwy
Woree 4868
Far North Queensland
Tel. 40332525, fax 40332520
Mobile 0420858124
New Product Development Manager
Sole Health Care Products Pty Ltd
Apartment 2607, GangDaoYinZuo building 3002 Jiefang Lu, Shenzhen, China
ÉîÛÚÊÐÂÞºþÇø½â·Å·3002ºÅ¸Ûµ ºÒø×ù2607ÊÒ
Tel. +86-13418732724 (GMT+8)
http://www.solehealth.com.au
608 Dockside
44 Ferry St.
Kangaroo Point
Queensland 4169
Australia (GMT+10)
Tel. +61-0420858124
Fax +61-7-3891 6900
Book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0443100098/203-66747
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/school-in-a-state-of-collapse-20100609-xwyb.html
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/what-problem-nsw-health-begs-to-differ-with-doctors-20100609-xwyc.html
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/children-at-risk-of-wrong-surgery-after-testing-service-closes-20100609-xwxx.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Greiner Thomas [mailto:greiner.thom@UWLAX.EDU]
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 10:30 AM
To: BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL
Subject: Re: [BIOMCH-L] Faulty gait data in the news
I suppose that when Chris Kirtley wrote "I guess this had to happen at some time" he meant that our discipline has grown to the point where it is gaining all types of press. Still, I am made uncomfortable by this news item. Not so because "errors were made by a gait lab" that were not reported to patients and surgeons (as the linked article states), but because the "errors" are never described. What we have here is sensationalist journalism. Perhaps the gait lab at the University of New South Wales is at fault, but we cannot know that from the information presented in this "news" report.
What type of errors were reported? What constitutes an error? Who judged that the data collection was faulty?
Standards in biomechanics have often been proposed (see the ISB standards) and are frequently, dare I say universally, ignored. Who among us follows ISB standards (or some other standard) to the letter? When we depart from the standard it does not mean that we have committed an "error," but rather that the data collection situation required modifications that the standard could not anticipate or that experience tells us that a different data collection method works better.
None of these are "errors" but they will all result in different answers during data collection. So, I have to ask, what makes the Sydney Children's Hospital CEO believe that the University of New South Wales committed errors? This question is especially important since, as the report states "no adverse consequences of any kind were identified."
This style of reporting contains all the characteristics of a witch hunt. As a scientific community, let's be real careful before we start to cast stones.
Thomas M. Greiner, Ph.D.
Anatomist and Physical Anthropologist
Dept. of Health Professions
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
1725 State Street
La Crosse, WI 54601 USA
-----Original Message-----
From: * Biomechanics and Movement Science listserver [mailto:BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL] On Behalf Of Chris Kirtley
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 10:09 PM
To: BIOMCH-L@NIC.SURFNET.NL
Subject: [BIOMCH-L] Faulty gait data in the news
Dear Biomechers,
I guess this had to happen at some time. As far as I know it's the first
time gait data has been questioned in this way?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/09/2922273.htm
Chris
Dr. Chris Kirtley MB ChB, PhD
Woree Family Medical Centre
1/600 Bruce Hwy
Woree 4868
Far North Queensland
Tel. 40332525, fax 40332520
Mobile 0420858124
New Product Development Manager
Sole Health Care Products Pty Ltd
Apartment 2607, GangDaoYinZuo building 3002 Jiefang Lu, Shenzhen, China
ÉîÛÚÊÐÂÞºþÇø½â·Å·3002ºÅ¸Ûµ ºÒø×ù2607ÊÒ
Tel. +86-13418732724 (GMT+8)
http://www.solehealth.com.au
608 Dockside
44 Ferry St.
Kangaroo Point
Queensland 4169
Australia (GMT+10)
Tel. +61-0420858124
Fax +61-7-3891 6900
Book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0443100098/203-66747