Flamingos Studied to Improve Prosthetics
Scientists are studying the unique way flamingos balance on one leg, hoping to make physical therapy more effective and improve prosthetic devices, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“The flamingo’s ability to balance on one leg for long periods of time represents the extreme in balance control. It’s a good model to study,” said Young-Hui Chang, a locomotion expert at Georgia Tech’s school of applied physiology.

Lena Ting, a posture expert at the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (a joint department of the two universities conducting the study, Georgia Tech and Emory University) and Chang are in charge of the research.

The scientists are measuring the progress of baby hatchlings from the early stages of life through the point that they join the adult flock. Baby flamingos typically stand within a few hours of being hatched and, within a week, balance on one leg for short periods of time.

For more information, visit www.ajc.com or www.neuro.gatech.edu.

BCP/ABC Voting On Integration
The deliberations regarding the proposed integration between the Board for Certification in Pedorthics (BCP) and the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC) was expected to be finalized and put to a vote in late fall. A legal agreement detailing the terms of the integration was to be mailed to all BCP-certified pedorthists along with an official ballot to be reviewed and returned within 30 days.

A letter urging all certified pedorthists to support the proposed integration was mailed to all BCP members in August, and was also posted on the BCP Web site.

"We have carefully studied all aspects of the negotiations and have found them to be fair and concise. We believe that the C.Ped. will greatly benefit from this integration," states the letter, which was signed by 16 former board members and presidents of the Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA) and BCP.

The result of the vote was not available at press time, but updates will be given in AOPA In Advance, AOPA's bi-weekly, members-only newsletter, as well as the newly launched O&P Almanac Digest. BCP's official Web site is www.cpeds.org.

UN Reaches Consensus on Disability Treaty
The United Nations recently agreed on an international treaty dedicated to improving the treatment of disabled people. According to the UN, the treaty focuses on urging countries to replace welfare and charity with new rights and freedoms, although the treaty itself does not specifically create any new rights.

The United States abstained from signing the convention, pointing out that it already has comprehensive laws on disability rights. Still, Maria Raina, coordinator of the international disability caucus, believes the U.S. will eventually sign “as it did with other conventions,” according to the BBC.

The UN General Assembly was expected to adopt the treaty in its next session, which began in September.

For more information, visit www.un.org.

AOPA Membership Renewal Forms Mailed
AOPA membership renewal forms were mailed in early October to all current AOPA members. The deadline to renew is December 31, 2006.

For current non-members, AOPA is now offering the chance to join and start receiving benefits immediately on the date they become a member through Dec. 31, 2007.

AOPA is a not-for-profit trade organization whose member benefits include biweekly updates on coding information, Medicare reform, competitive bidding and other breaking news in O&P through the members-only e-mail newsletter AOPA In Advance.

As an AOPA member, all of your employees have access to on-staff coding, reimbursement, billing, documentation and compliance experts. Members also receive significant discounts on AOPA’s O&P products and seminars.

For patient care suppliers, the cost to join is $1,470.

If you have not received your renewal form or have questions, contact AOPA Membership Coordinator Kerry Stalknecht at (571) 431-0876, ext. 254.

Prosthetics Exhibit Debuts in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s Soldiers & Sailors Museum recently debuted a new exhibit focusing on soldiers who have lost limbs in battle. The exhibit, “Beyond the Battlefield,” is the first of its kind at the museum, and showcases photographs and prosthetic devices from the Civil War era, as well as the knives and other instruments once used to amputate limbs.

The showcase aims to examine how missing limbs have been perceived throughout history. “Beyond the Battlefield” will remain open through at least September 2007.

For more information, visit www.soldiersandsailorshall.org.

Cerebral Palsy Patients Get Botox for Coordination Control
Botox isn’t just for wrinkles anymore. Research has shown that children afflicted with cerebral palsy demonstrate significant coordination improvement when given small doses of the botulinum toxin commonly known as Botox. “Some were able to hold a pen and write for the first time,” said Dr. Marc DiFazio of Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Researchers studied 250 children, ages one to 16. About 150 of those studied were tracked by doctor assessments, family reports, and videos for more than two years.

Approximately 86 percent of all children studied demonstrated noticeable improvements in symptoms after the injections. Improvements ranged from making voluntary movements for the first time to improved stance and walking. Only a few children experienced mild side effects, such as a flu-like reaction and mild weakness in the legs.

Botox is thought to relieve cerebral palsy symptoms by reducing tightness in the muscles, allowing better control of movement and reduced muscle contractions.

For more information, visit www.wramc.amedd.army.mil.

Amputees Often Return to Driving
Eighty percent of lower limb amputees return to driving within four months of amputation, according to a study released by West Park Healthcare Centre of Toronto.

“This gives us some scientific information to assist in decision-making regarding a return to the road,” said Dr. Michael Devlin, a physiatrist at West Park Healthcare Centre and the study’s senior author.

West Park, a specialized rehabilitation, continuing care and long-term care facility, surveyed 123 outpatients in its amputee and prosthetic clinics. Of them, 80 percent were able to return to driving an average of 3.8 months after amputation.

Of those who did not return to driving, West Park claims that “most cited their reason as a preference for public transportation, lack of confidence or a fear of driving.”

For more information, visit www.westpark.org.

Wisconsin-Area O&P Practice Creates Amputee Support Group

Reichert & Kelsey Prosthetics Orthotics, based in Kenosha, Wis., has created an amputee support group dedicated to providing a forum for amputees to share advice, make new friends and offer support to each other. Owners Brian Kelsey, CPO, and Doug Reichert, CP, opened the first meeting. Kelsey said that, while supporting other amputees, the group has the potential to support those who may be facing the challenges of amputation.

“We want this group to identify questions and future topics they would like addressed by local experts, as well as support future amputees,” he added.

For more information, contact Reichert & Kelsey Prosthetics Orthotics, LLC at (262) 654-4300.

Prosthetics Outreach Foundation Receives Funding
The Prosthetics Outreach Foundation (POF) has received an endowment from board member George W. Bagby, M.D., to support the Nalta Hospital in Bangladesh. The POF helped establish a prosthetics and orthotics center at the hospital and continues to support orthopedic rehabilitation efforts at the center.

Dr. Bagby, who was recently honored as “Alumnus of the Year” by the Temple University School of Medicine, helped establish the 30-bed hospital in 2000. It serves an estimated 10 million people in rural Southwestern Bangladesh.

The POF works to restore mobility and independence to amputees and other persons suffering from orthopedic disabilities around the world. Currently, the organization works primarily in Vietnam, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone.

See the Almanac’s Oct. 2006 article, “Making A Difference: Tips for Volunteering and Donating in O&P” for more information on the POF, or visit www.pofsea.org.

Foot’s Necessity for Cycling Studied
Researchers at Georgia Tech are studying whether a prosthetic foot is necessary for bicycling. “Prostheses are very expensive, and if a patient wants or needs a special prosthesis to cycle, can there be a cost savings by not using a foot section or is it just as necessary as if you were walking?” said Lee Childers, the graduate student conducting the study.

Donated Vari-Flex® feet from Ossur will be fitted to uni-lateral, transtibial amputees at the Georgia Tech School of Applied Physiology. The difference between using a prosthesis and having no foot at all (where a pylon or shin section is attached directly to the pedal) will be evaluated using a special set of pedals that measure force.

Study participants will get to keep the feet.

Childers will be overseen by Dr. Robert J. Gregor, the director of the Center for Human Movement Studies.

Peter D. Harsch, CP, senior regional clinical manager at Ossur North America, said, “We’ve used the Vari-Flex foot on both transfemoral and transtibial cyclists and triathletes. The Vari-Flex has proven to be very efficient for the top Paralympic athletes in both world championships and in the Paralympics games.”

For more information, visit www.ap.gatech.edu/mspo.

Almanac Launches Monthly Electronic Digest
The O&P Almanac has begun e-mailing a digest of its top stories for each month. The e-mail provides direct links to stories in the magazine’s online version, including “In the News” and other columns from AOPA’s Medicare and reimbursement staff.

Readers can also participate in polls and will have the ability to answer upcoming “Glad You Asked” questions, in which practitioners sound off on business and clinical issues.

In late September, a text-only version of the inaugural edition was sent out via the O&P listserv. All AOPA In Advance recipients received an HTML version.

To sign up, send an e-mail to Denise Napoli at dnapoli@aopanet.org with your name and e-mail address. For more information, call (571) 431-0856.

ABC Issues Therapeutic Shoe Fitter Credential
Professionals can now receive certification as a therapeutic shoe fitter from the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics (ABC).

To receive certification, applicants must submit proof of at least 1,000 hours of on-the-job patient contact, as well as professional education and experience in the field of non-custom therapeutic shoes and diabetic inserts. Future applicants will be required to pass an examination, and everyone who achieves certification must attend continuing education sessions. The application fee is $150.

The program is offered alongside ABC’s other certified fitter programs in orthotics and for mastectomy patients. ABC said that many of its certified fitters of orthotics will already be eligible for this new program.

The addition of this credential to ABC’s current offering comes at a time when ABC is negotiating integration with the Board for Certification in Pedorthics (BCP).

For more information, visit www.abcop.org or call (703) 836-7114, ext. 229, 221 or 228.

Transitions

People in the News
U.S. Army Maj. David Rozelle, a below-the-knee amputee, completed the Accenture Chicago Triathlon in 2 hours, 45 minutes—faster than most able-bodied athletes.

Mark McClellan recently retired as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), based in Baltimore, Md. McClellan was appointed by President Bush in 2004 and oversaw the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit and other provisions contained in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Prior to serving as CMS administrator, McClellan led the Food and Drug Administration. No replacement has been named.

John Siciliano, an above-the-knee amputee, has joined Endolite North America, based in Centerville, Ohio, as a product specialist. He will serve the states of California and Nevada, giving motivational speeches and leading lectures.

Jack Richmond, a below-the-knee amputee, ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 29 as a benefit for the Wounded Warriors Project.

Richmond is an area sales manager for the Fillauer Companies, located in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Scott Moore has joined Freedom Innovations, based in Irvine, Calif., as Midwestern regional sales manager. Moore most recently served as a sales representative for OrthoRehab Inc., a division of Otto Bock Healthcare.

Jeff Denune, CP, LP, has been appointed as the clinical director of prosthetics at Ohio Willow Wood, based in Mt. Sterling, Ohio. Denune most recently served as Ohio Willow Wood’s educational prosthetist. Raymond Francis, CP, LP, will step down as the company’s chief prosthetist.

Martin Andersson has joined Pro-Tech of Bloomfield, Conn., as the director of sales and marketing. Prior to joining Pro-Tech, he worked for eight years in sales and marketing for Boston Brace. Tom Kimball has also joined Pro-Tech as its director of manufacturing. He previously spent 20 years working at Boston Brace where he was responsible for all manufacturing and training of production staff.

Benjamin Wilmot, of Sound Limbs Orthotics & Prosthetics in Lewiston, Maine, received his certified orthotist standing from the American Board of Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics. Wilson has been on the staff at Sound Limbs since May of 2005.

Businesses in the News
Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics Inc. recently opened its third office in Frederick, Md. The company also has locations in Gettysburg, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md.

“Ability is responding to the needs of yet another region that has never been serviced full-time,” said Vice President Jeffrey Quelet, CPO. The new office will be managed by John P. Jacobs, CO, BOCP.

Advanced Arm Dynamics of Redondo Beach, Calif., has been awarded a $36 million contract with the U.S. Department of the Army. The company specializes in advanced upper-limb prostheses.

The Board for Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification (BOC) has moved. Its new address is 7150 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite G, Columbia, Maryland 21045-1151. Phone and fax numbers remain the same. See www.bocusa.org for more information.

The Pedorthic Footwear Association (PFA) has moved its headquarters from Columbia, Md., to Washington, D.C. effective October 1. The new headquarters address is: 2025 M St. N.W., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036. PFA’s toll-free telephone number, (800) 673-8447, has not changed in the move.

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