Abstracts of the 17th Annual Meeting of ESMAC, Oral Presentations / Gait & Posture 28S (2008) S1–S48 S15 Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) Dimensions D and E, the 10- level Gillette Functional Assessment Questionnaire (FAQ), the Energy Expenditure Index (EEI), the Gillette Gait Index (GGI) out of three-dimensional gait analysis and health-related quality of life (HRQL), assessed by self or proxy with the questionnaire “V´ ecu et Sant´ e Per¸ cu de l’Adolescent” (VSP-A) were selected for the study [2]. VSP-A is a generic, multidimensional QL questionnaire originally developed and validated in French. It is available as a self-reported questionnaire for adolescents aged 11-16 (VSP-A), children aged 6-10 (VSP-Ae), or as a parent- reported questionnaire (VSP-Ap). Its psychometric properties have been extensively tested [3,4]. Cross-sectional data subset at inclusion of 160 spastic diplegic CP children, the largest series in our country, 6 to 18 years old were reported. Results: GGI correlated significantly (p < 0.001) with GMFM, FAQ and the EEI for all the patients and all but one (EEI) correlated if grouped according to GMFCS. 109 patients (68.1%) answered the VSP-A (43 adolescents and 66 children), and 80 VSP-A parent questionnaires (50%) were collected. Adolescents reported the lowest QL in the dimension of relation with friends, with medical staff and in the dimension of leisure. Whereas high scores are found in self esteem, relation with teachers and physical well being. Children reported a low QL in the dimension of leisure and friends-communication and had high scores in vitality, school work and self esteem. Parent’s evaluated their children’s QL lower, particularly in the dimensions physical well being and self esteem. VSP-A scores did not allow differentiation between GMFCS levels. Significant differences were found between what adolescents and children reported as their QL compared to what their parents reported. But no systematic correlation was found between the QL scores and the other outcome tools. Discussion: The literature features a number of functional and QL evaluation instruments but further exploration of the tools may uncover problems with measurement reliability and discriminatory validity [5]. QL evaluation completes the patient information by introducing a subjective dimension that requires specific interpretation. It would be reasonable to assume that more impaired CP patients report lower QL, but studies have shown their scores to be similar to those of unimpaired children and adolescents of the same age. This may reflect adaptation to, or acceptance of, their health condition [6]. References [1] Colver A, and the SPARCLE group. Study protocol: SPARCLE – a multi-center European study of the relationship of environment to participation and quality of life in children with cerebral palsy. BMC Public Health. 2006; 6: 105. [2] Viehweger E, Robitail S, Rohon MA, et al. Measuring quality of life in cerebral palsy children. Ann Readapt Med Phys. 2008; 51: 129– 137. [3] Simeoni MC, Sapin C, Antoniotti S, Auquier P. Health-related quality of life reported by French adolescents: a predictive approach of health status? J Adolesc Health. 2001; 28: 288–294. [4] Simeoni MC, Auquier P, Antoniotti S, et al. Validation of a French health-related quality of life instrument for adolescents: The VSP-A. Qual Life Res. 2000; 9: 393–403. [5] Sullivan E, Barnes D, Linton JL, et al. Relationships among functional outcome measures used for assessing children with ambulatory CP. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2007; 49: 338–344. [6] Albrecht GL, Devlieger PJ. The disability paradox: high quality of life against all odds. Soc Sci Med. 1999; 48: 977–988. O021 Withdrawn O022 Quantification of tendon movement without the presence of anatomical landmarks using ultrasound imaging R. Selles 1 , J.W. Korstanje 2 , H. Stam 3 , S. Hovius 4 , H. Bosch 5 . 1 Rehabilitation & Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Erasmus MC; 2 Rehabilitation & Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Biomedical Engineering, Thorax Center, Erasmus MC; 3 Rehabilitation Medicine, Erasmus MC; 4 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Erasmus MC; 5 Biomedical Engineering, Thorax Center, Erasmus MC, The Netherlands Summary: While ultrasound is often used to study the movement of tendons and muscles in vivo, present movement quantification is based on manual tracking of anatomical landmarks (e.g, [1]), limiting the applicability of the technique to a small number of muscle-tendon units. In this paper, we present a new technique to quantify tendon movement without the presence of anatomical landmarks. Conclusions: We introduced a novel approach using two- dimensional speckle tracking in B-mode ultrasound images to measure displacement of tendons without the presence of anatomical landmarks (see Figure 1). With this technique, ultrasound can be used to study tendon and muscle movement in a much larger number of muscle-tendon units. Figure 1. Ultrasound image of FDS tendon. Introduction: Ultrasound can provide valuable information on, for example, tendon strain, muscle shortening en muscle moment arm [2]. In most studies, this information is obtained from manual tracking of the myotendinous junction in the ultrasound images. However, this approach is that it is only applicable when the myotendinous junction is clearly visible in the images. The aim of this study was to develop a novel approach using