A growing wave of O&P professionals are pursuing degrees in research traditionally held by medical doctors.
USF Studies Transfemoral Vacuum-Assisted Suspension A recent study of a transfemoral vacuum-assisted suspension system brought together Jason Kahle, CPO, LPO, FAAOP, and University of South Florida (USF) Assistant Professor Jason Highsmith, CP, DPT, FAAOP—and earned them AOPA’s prestigious Thranhardt Award for 2012. Kahle, who is finishing a master’s degree in clinical and translational research at USF, and Highsmith, who has a master’s degree as a clinical trialist and is a USF doctoral candidate in that field, are part of a growing wave of O&P professionals pursuing degrees in research traditionally held by medical doctors. Vacuum-assisted suspension is fairly common for transtibial amputees because the socket must be sealed to the interface to achieve a vacuum, and a below-knee amputation offers the entire thigh to accommodate a silicone seal. “You don’t have that real estate to seal off the top of the socket with
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O&P Almanac AUGUST 2012
a transfemoral amputation,” says Kahle. But a company called Symmetry, based in Dothan, Alabama, has patented a product that combines the liner and seal as one unit within the socket, thereby creating a larger surface area for the vacuum seal. It is the only commercially available vacuum-assisted suspension system for transfemoral amputees. Symmetry wanted to know whether a socket using its liner would work as well without the proximal aspect, or brim. The company contracted with USF to conduct clinical efficacy trials comparing brimmed and brimless sockets using the Symmetry liner. “The brim is uncomfortable for amputees and difficult to fit for the prosthetist, so if the system worked as well without it, removing the brim would be a plus,” says Kahle. The researchers used X-rays and fluoroscopic images along with walking and balance tests to evaluate the two sockets.
The results? “Removing the brim under elevated vacuum seemed not to make a difference in the subjects’ balance, stability, or quality of walking,” says Highsmith. “And the amputees’ subjective assessment clearly favored the brimless socket.” Kahle and Highsmith are collaborating in other studies, including a comparative efficiency trial of a new C-leg knee developed by Ottobock. “The C-leg knee released in 1997 has become the standard of care,” says Highsmith. “But new generations have come out, and we are now comparing Ottobock’s new Genium knee with the original version.” The trial should be completed within a few months. Another study, funded by a Department of Defense grant, will compare three different prosthetic feet with an eye toward enabling military amputees to return to active duty if they are willing. Subjects will wear the feet on a field obstacle course as well as in the lab. “We’ve partnered with a local sheriff to use a SWAT training facility,” says Highsmith. The $750,000 project will launch later this year.
Georgia Tech Examines Lower-Limb Motion At Georgia Tech in Atlanta, students can participate in both clinical and research graduate programs in orthotics and prosthetics. The university’s Master of Science in Prosthetics and Orthotics (MSPO) program is designed for students who have earned a bachelor’s degree and completed the prerequisite coursework to pursue a clinical career in O&P. But the school is unique in that it also offers a PhD program designed to train scientists to become principal investigators in O&P research. In 2007, Georgia Tech’s School of Applied Physiology was awarded the nation’s first grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund the training of scientists with a focus in orthotics and prosthetics; the grant comes up for its five-year renewal cycle soon.