In February, AOPA, in partnership with the Center for O&P Learning & Evidence-Based Practice (COPL), announced a Request for Pilot Grant Proposals in 16 potential areas of orthotic and prosthetic research including an open topic. A record 38 proposals were received in response to the request for proposals, and the board took the extraordinary step of choosing seven projects to fund, instead of the usual 3-4 projects. The previous years’ projects, dating back to 2009, are available for review on AOPA’s website.
The 2017 COPL grants that are selected for funding are listed below:
- Sarah Anderson, La Trobe University, Comparison of quality of life in people with partial foot or transtibial amputation
- Brian Kaluf, BSE, CP, Ability Prosthetics and Orthotics, Inc., Hydraulic and Microprocessor Controlled Ankle-Foot Prostheses for Limited Community Ambulators with Unilateral Transtibial Amputation: Pilot Study
- Sarah Chang, PhD, Northwestern University, A pilot study to evaluate the effects of the hydraulic ankle-foot prostheses on standing and walking in K2-level ambulators
- Benjamin Padilla, MD, University of California San Francisco Benoiff Children’s Hospital, The Effects of a Custom Pectus Carintum Orthosis on Dosing Response and Quality of Life
- Eric Weber, CPO, FAAOP, Hanger Clinic – Department of Clinical and Scientific Affairs, Mobility and Global Health among Users of Lower Limb Orthoses: The Establishment of a National Data Base
- Chris Hovorka, Ph.D., CPO, LPO, FAAOP, Georgia Institute of Technology, Gait and Motion Control Benefits of Custom Molded Passive-Dynamic AFOs versus Custom Fit Carbon Composite AFOs in Persons with Neuromuscular Impairment
- Kenton Kaufman, PhD, Mayo Clinic, Prevalence, correlates, and risk of prescription drug use and abuse in individuals with above knee amputations