Disabled Athletes Face Questions of Unfair Advantage
In two recent cases, disabled athletes have faced questions of whether the technology that helps them to be mobile can actually give them unfair advantages in sports competitions against able-bodied athletes. 

Oscar Pistorius, a bilateral below-knee amputee sprinter from South Africa, wants to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) seeks to bar him from Olympic competition on the grounds that his prostheses might give him an advantage over runners with natural legs. 

Concerns include whether Pistorius’ legs would unfairly lengthen his stride, and whether allowing prosthetic devices into races would encourage able-bodied athletes to alter their bodies in order to get faster times.

His 100-, 200- and 400-meter times would have earned him gold medals in the equivalent women’s races at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but they’re not quite fast enough to qualify for the men’s races. Pistorius still has over a year to train for the 2008 games in Beijing, and it’s likely his times will improve. 

High school wheelchair athlete Tatyana McFadden of Howard County, Md., has been fighting to compete alongside able-bodied track runners and have her winnings count toward the school team’s totals. A district judge ruled that her wheelchair race scores could not count toward her school track team’s totals. Judge Andre M. Davis said that the state athletic association’s policy might seem unfair, but it did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. 

The track authority has a policy called the “40 percent rule,” in which events that are offered by fewer than 40 percent of state schools will not be counted toward team totals. Fewer than 7 percent of Maryland’s participating schools offered wheelchair racing this season, leading some to say that allowing McFadden’s points to count toward team totals would be unfair.

McFadden won a lawsuit last year to have Howard County offer a wheelchair division in track and to award her individual points for the races she won. This is also the first year that Maryland will offer wheelchair racing at the state championships.

AOPA Calls for Nominations
The AOPA Nominating Committee is seeking O&P leaders to serve on the organization’s board of directors for the following positions: president-elect; vice president; director-at-large; allotted director, 1–3 facilities; and allotted director, 11–199 facilities.

Nominees should have a strong background in O&P management and, ideally, a history of AOPA committee or volunteer work. Nominations must be received by July 20.

If you are interested in serving or know of a potential nominee, contact Nominating Committee chairman Walter Racette, CPO, by July 20 at racettew@orthosurg.ucsf.edu or (415) 476-1788.

ABC Files Trademark Infringement Complaint Against BOC
ABC has filed a complaint in United States District Court against BOC for trademark infringement regarding its new “BOCped” pedorthic credential. 

BOC started a “BOCped” certification program in September 2006. The credential is available through a cross-certification program open to pedorthists certified with BCP, ABC or their state’s licensure program, according to a BOC press release.

At that time, BCP sent BOC a “cease and desist” letter, saying that the BOCped credential was an infringement of the trademarked C.Ped. credential. 

BOC discontinued the use of the BOCped name and subsequently released a new title, BOC A.Ped. Following the December 2006 integration of BCP into ABC, BOC again announced the certification title of BOCped.  

"We have reached out to the BOC and discussed with them their infringement of our trademarked C.Ped. credential. We were assured they would discontinue use of the confusing title. However, the BOC has not taken the necessary steps to demonstrate good faith in complying with our numerous cease and desist letters," says ABC President Stephen B. Fletcher, CPO.

Chair of the BOC board Teresa Alpert-Leibman, BOCO, C.Ped., had no comment, but stated that the matter was under investigation.

For further information on the organizations’ programs, visit www.abcop.org or www.bocusa.org.

Honey May Prevent Amputation for Diabetics
Honey isn’t just for tea anymore. Jennifer Eddy, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, is conducting a double-blind controlled trial to see if honey is an effective topical treatment for diabetic ulcers. If the results prove positive, her therapy could lead to fewer amputations for diabetics. 

Because of their poor circulation and weakened immune system, diabetics are susceptible to ulcerated infections, which can require amputation if they do not heal. Eddy first used honey treatment six years ago as a last resort on a 79-year-old diabetic patient whose foot wounds were not responding to conventional treatments. 

Honey defeats bacterial strains that have become resistant to typical antibiotics, due to its unique combination of naturally-occurring enzymes, acidic PH, and low water content. Though in the United States using honey is seen as a folk remedy, it is currently considered a form of alternative medicine in Europe and New Zealand, ABC News reports.

Honey can be found on any supermarket shelf, but Prof. Eddy warns that a patient needs a doctor to administer the therapy, as the wound needs sterile cleansing of dead skin and bacteria before the layer of honey can be poured on. 

“If we can prove that honey promotes healing in diabetic ulcers, we can offer new hope for many patients. The possibilities are tremendous,” says Eddy. She intends to complete the trial and publish her findings by 2008 or 2009. 

For more information, visit www.news.wisc.edu/13739. To learn more about volunteering for the study, call (715) 855-5683.

Airports Test Device Designed to Screen Prosthetic Limbs
A new, non-invasive, portable device—CastScope—designed to screen casts, heavy bandages, support braces and prosthetic limbs, may become standard at airports across the country. 

CastScope uses backscatter X-ray technology to screen for prohibited items or potential security threats. The backscatter X-ray, which generates a high-contrast image, improves the screener’s view of such potential security threats, which were previously difficult to separate from braces or prosthetic devices in traditional X-ray images.

CastScope supplements walk-through and hand-held metal detectors, which can sound an alarm due to metal components in a brace or prosthesis. It can be positioned at many different angles, and requires no clothing to be moved away from the prosthesis or brace during the screening.

It was tested at airports in Tampa, San Jose, Nashville, and Washington, D.C. during May and June. QR Sciences has announced that its associated company, Spectrum San Diego Inc., has entered into contract negotiations with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for the manufacture of its screening system. If CastScope’s pilot is successful, the TSA expects to extend its use for at least 36 months. The device could also be used for other venues besides airports, such as prisons and courthouses.

For more information, visit www.CastScope.com.

Amputees in Malaysia Receive Free Prosthetic Limbs
In May, more than 200 amputees received free prosthetic limbs that were provided by the “free prosthesis program” of the Che Hoon Khor Moral Uplifting Society, based in Penang, Malaysia. While the majority of recipients were Malaysians, individuals from Iraq, Myanmar and Indonesia also received donated limbs, notes an article in the Malaysian English-language newspaper The Star.

The free prosthesis program was organized in conjunction with the society’s 53rd anniversary, according to the article.

OPAF Launches First Dive™ Adaptive Scuba Program
The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund Inc. (OPAF) held its inaugural First Dive™ clinic on June 24 in Buffalo, N.Y. First Dive introduced amputees and others with physical challenges to scuba diving. 

Participants said that water activities give them the closest feeling to being sound again, since weight bearing is not an issue. First Dive was led by Tony and Carole Anderson of Lackawanna, N.Y., both certified adaptive scuba instructors. 

First Dive joins OPAF’s lineup of other “First” adaptive sports programs, including First Volley™ and First Swing.
For more information on other First clinics, visit www.opfund.org.

Few Resources for Iraqi Amputee Soldiers
As more and more of the 120,000 Iraqi troops engage in direct combat, more are getting injured. According to a recent Washington Post article, Iraqi soldiers who become amputees have few resources. 

Iraqis fight alongside Americans, but while wounded U.S. soldiers are typically flown within one day to a first-class military hospital in Germany and later receive intense and sophisticated rehabilitative care in the U.S., Iraqis only occasionally receive initial care in a military facility, and are left to recover in ill-equipped public hospitals or at home, according to the Post. 

The one U.S.-run military prosthetics clinic in Iraq is located in the heavily-guarded “green zone.” The 74-bed facility, Ibn Sina, keeps patients as long as possible, but must continuously dismiss patients to make room for new ones. Soldiers, then, often have to rely on family members to help cover the costs of their rehabilitation, either at crowded civilian hospitals or through private physicians.  

Several aid organizations are helping Iraqi civilians who have become victims of violence, but so far, none have focused on injured soldiers, says the Post.

AOPA’s Coding Expertise Soon Available 24/7
AOPA has always offered expert coding advice to its members. Soon, the expertise the O&P field has come to rely on will be available 24 hours a day at AOPA’s new Web site, www.LCodeSearch.com. 

This exclusive service, available only for AOPA members, will allow users to match products to L codes and manufacturers. Visitors to the site will be able to search by L code, by category (orthotics or prosthetics), by area of the body, or by manufacturer.

Manufacturers who want their products to be included in the Web site’s database should go to www.LCodeSearch.com and use the login name and password they were sent in the letter about the site, which was mailed in early June. Manufacturers may also contact Joe McTernan at jmcternan@AOPAnet.org or (571) 431-0811 with any questions. Don’t miss out on the chance to have your company’s name and product information included in this exciting new site!

AOPA will officially launch the site at the 2007 AOPA National Assembly, Sept. 17–20 in Las Vegas.

Lightweight Energy-Storing Prosthesis Takes First Steps
A team of researchers at Arizona State University and Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. are working on a below-knee prosthesis with energy-storing springs and a lightweight motor that could enable amputees to expend less energy while walking. 

The device, nicknamed SPARKy for Spring Ankle with Regenerative Kinetics, mimics the natural human gait cycle by storing and releasing energy during the stance phase. A spring breaks the “fall” that happens at the beginning of the gait cycle and stores energy as the leg rolls over the ankle during the stance phase, similar to the function of the Achilles tendon. 

This “robotic tendon” stores enough energy that the size of the motor assisting it has been reduced to a 2-pound system.

“We expect this device to revolutionize prosthetics,” says Joseph Hitt, one of the doctoral students involved in the project. 

The SPARKy team hopes to demonstrate the first phase of the robotic tendon in December, and complete the final device in 2009. 

For more information, visit www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070501151726.htm.

TRANSITIONS

People in the News 

Eric De Le Cruz has joined Anchor Orthotics and Prosthetics of Sacramento, Calif., as an orthopedic fitter.

Heather Benjamin is the new editorial assistant at AOPA. She will assist with copy editing, production, writing and editing articles and producing Web site content for the O&P Almanac and O&P Almanac Digest. She can be reached at hbenjamin@AOPAnet.org or (571) 431-0856.

Glenn Wilson is the new manager and practitioner at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics in Helena, Mont. Wilson earned his associate’s degree in orthotics from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and has 17 years of experience in the field.

Ing. Marlo Ortiz Velazquez Del Mercado was named the recipient of the Blatchford Prize, to be awarded at the Twelfth World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) in Vancouver, British Columbia, July 29-Aug. 3, 2007. This prize, established by the Blatchford family to honor the memory of Brian Blatchford, is awarded to an individual with an outstanding record of innovative achievement in the field of prosthetics and orthotics. Del Mercado’s M.A.S.(R) method of transfemoral socket fitting has been judged to be one of the most significant new improvements in O&P techniques in the past three years.

Jeffrey Scott Broadwell has graduated from Northwestern University’s certificate program in orthotics and prosthetics. He is serving his residency with Capital Prosthetics and Orthotics Inc. in Columbia, S.C., of which his father, Ross Broadwell, CPO, is owner and president.

Alan Gracon has been promoted to director of logistics at PEL Supply
Company of Cleveland. He is in charge of buying, storing and shipping products for the company. Gracon, who’s been with PEL since 1979, previously worked as a warehouse/purchasing manager.

Jennifer Buchanan has entered the University of Michigan’s orthotic residency program. Buchanan is a recent graduate of the Eastern Michigan University’s orthotics and prosthetics graduate certificate program.

Businesses in the News

Joliet Junior College (JJC) of Joliet, Ill., will begin offering associate's degrees and certificates in orthotics and prosthetics. During the recent spring semester, a Northwestern University professor taught an exploratory class in O&P which prompted the school board to vote on establishing the program. JJC's program will "unite clinical and technical coursework while offering a combined orthotic and prosthetic associate's degree, unique to the JJC curriculum," according to a statement released by the college.

The New York state chapter of AAOP has cancelled its 2007 annual meeting, originally scheduled to occur this October at the Otesaga Resort in Cooperstown, N.Y. Rescheduled dates are April 7–8, 2008, at the same location.

Nobbe Orthopedics of Santa Barbara, Calif. was recently selected as provider of the month by the Santa Barbara Regional Health Authority, a provider of publicly-funded health care plans in Santa Barbara.

In Memoriam

Charles F. Moore, CP, of Opelika, Ala. died May 29. 

Moore originally worked for Hanger Orthopedic before starting his own practice in Opelika. He was one of the founding members of the International African American Orthotic Prosthetic Coalition (IAAPOC) in 1991, and served as vice president and as chairman of the scholarship committee. 

He is survived by his wife, Florence, and their children Cory and Cedrick.