Hot Off the Press

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  Mirror Therapy Effective for Men With Upper-limb PLP A randomized, controlled trial of mirror therapy among men with unilateral upper-limb amputations and phantom limb pain (PLP) was conducted with participants from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and Brooke Army Me...
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  Ability P&O, Freedom Innovations Form Research Partnership Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics, headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, and Freedom Innovations, Irvine, California, have formed a partnership to bring clinical research study protocols to Ability P&O's patient care facilities. The companie...
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  Color-changing Electronic Skin May Improve Prostheses Some animals, such as chameleons, octopus, or squid, can change their skin coloration for camouflage, temperature preservation, or communication, which has led to scientific efforts to replicate the abilities in artificial skin. However, most deve...
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  House Approves Bill That Recognizes O&P Notes On July 25, the U.S. House of Representatives acted to adopt the Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R. 3178).
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  Össur Reports 2Q 2017 Results Össur, Reykjavik, Iceland, posted its second quarter (2Q) 2017 financial results. Financial amounts, unless otherwise noted, are in U.S. dollars.
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  Myomo Expands Management Team Myomo, Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the expansion of its management team with three new positions in medical affairs, sales, and marketing. The expansion marks the company's accelerated commercialization of its MyoPro line of powered orthos...
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  San Antonio Amputee Foundation Hosts First Stride The San Antonio Amputee Foundation, led by Mona Patel, hosted and cosponsored an Orthotic & Prosthetic Activities Foundation (OPAF) First Stride Training and Clinic on July 16 in San Antonio. Cosponsors included Hanger Clinic, HealthSouth Reh...
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  Stark Joins Coapt Coapt, Chicago, announced that Gerald Stark, PhD, MSEM, CPO/L, FAAOP, has been named director of clinical innovation. His role will be to foster the relationship between Coapt and clinical professionals, and enhance the support, efficacy, and educ...
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  In Memoriam: John Sabolich, CPO John Sabolich, CPO, owner and clinical director, Scott Sabolich Prosthetics & Research, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, passed away on July 23. He was 68 years old. Sabolich was a pioneer in prosthetics innovation, as the creator of the Sabolich Sens...
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  D-Rev Awarded $100K for Prosthetic Knee D-Rev, San Francisco, has been awarded approximately $100,000 (£76,280) to develop a low-cost polycentric, four-bar prosthetic knee, that will increase stability over uneven ground. By 2021, after an initial 18-month research phase, the comp...
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  Study: Sound-Side Rotator Cuff Degeneration Not Worsened by Overuse A study, conducted to assess whether overuse of the sound-side shoulder among people with unilateral arm amputation has a role in rotator cuff tears, found that rotator cuff degeneration was no higher than the rate among subjects without amputatio...
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  Fillauer Names Vice President Fillauer Companies, Chattanooga, Tennessee announced that Traci Dralle has been named vice president. She   joined the company in 2012 as the director of marketing and most recently served as director of marketing and sales.
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  AOPA Announces Winners of 2017-2018 Pilot Grants The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA), in partnership with the Center for O&P Learning & Evidence-Based Practice (COPL), announced its 2017-2018 pilot grant awards. In response to the record 38 proposals received, AOPA'...
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  Revised: Noridian, NGS, and CGS Hosting Webinars on Diabetic Shoes Coverage Criteria Noridian Healthcare Solutions, the Jurisdiction A Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor (DME MAC), and National Government Services (NGS), the Jurisdiction B DME MAC, are each hosting webinars about the coverage criteria and...
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  DME MACs Clarify Requirements for A-5513 The Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MACs) issued a joint publication on July 13 that addressed the proper use of diabetic shoe insert Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code A-5513 (for diabetics o...
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  Ekso Announces Proposed $34 Million Rights Offering The board of directors of Ekso Bionics Holdings, Richmond, California, has approved a proposed rights offering to raise gross proceeds of up to $34 million. The proposed rights offering is to be made through the distribution of non-transferable su...
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  Level Four O&P Appoints CEO Level Four Orthotics and Prosthetics, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, announced the appointment of James Button as its CEO. He was previously the CEO of Allard USA, Rockaway, New Jersey. Button has led the revitalization and growth of companies in...
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  Region 5 RAC Audits for Custom AFOs and KAFOs Performant Recovery, the Region 5 national Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS), and home health/hospice services, announced that it is initiating a post-payment complex medic...
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  Grant to Research, Design 3D-Printed Prostheses A team of researchers from the University of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska Medical Center has received a two-year, $150,000 grant to design a 3D-printed solution for parents who cannot afford traditional prosthetic devices for their chil...
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  Amputee Athletes’ Records to Reset After Blade Rule Change World and regional records held by athletes competing in the T43/F43 (bilateral below the knee lower limb amputations) and T42/F42 (unilateral above the knee lower limb amputations) classes will be reset on January 1, 2018, after World Para Athlet...
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  Ways and Means Recommends Bill With O&P Provisions After a meeting on July 13, the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee voted to send the Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R. 3178) to the House for consideration by all representatives.
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  Ability Hires Ability Prosthetics & Orthotics, headquartered in Exton,Pennsylvania, announced that it has hired three new practitioners. KrisDesjardins, CPO, FAAOP, joined the Exton patient care center, Nick Woeckel, MPO,is a resident prosthetist and orthot...
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  Nabtesco & Proteor Names Sales and Business Development Manager Nabtesco & Proteor in USA, Muskego, Wisconsin, announced that Jim Andreassen has joined the company as its Midwest sales and business development manager. He assumed responsibilities on July 3. Andreassen will also spearhead the company's new...
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  Hand Orthoses Preserve Muscle Function in Boys With DMD A study evaluating whether boys who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) could realize benefits in joint mobility, grip strength, or fine motor function by using hand orthoses during rest found that the orthoses can delay development of contract...
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  ALPS Sues Law Firm in Patent Dispute ALPS South, St. Petersburg, Florida, filed a lawsuit June 30 in Florida federal court against its former law firm, Shumaker Loop & Kendrick, claiming the firm allowed the company's patent dispute with WillowWood, Mt. Sterling, Ohio, to be hand...
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  Hanger Clinic Launches Contest This week, Hanger Clinic, Austin, Texas, announced the launch of its #AmputeeLifeHacks contest via a Facebook Live broadcast from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida, joined by Winter the dolphin. A life hack is a strategy to manage one's ti...
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  Ways and Means to Discuss O&P Clinical Notes in Patient Records The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means is meeting on July 13 at 2 p.m. ET to conduct a formal markup on the Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R.
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  Myomo Introduces Center of Excellence Program Myomo, Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the launch of a Center of Excellence program, which will recognize O&P practices in the United States that support its MyoPro line of powered orthoses. The practices will participate in joint marketin...
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  Prosthetic Knee Type May Determine Cost of Care Despite growing data that more advanced technology reduces falls and improves physical capabilities among patients with transfemoral amputations, patients with lower K-levels are usually ineligible for a microprocessor knee. Access to improved kne...
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  3D Printing Can Improve Osseointegrated Implants A study has evaluated two additive manufacturing methods for producing either fine- or coarse-textured titanium implants and compared the strength of bone integration, interlocking, and torque in rats given one or both types of the implants in the...
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  Ostrich’s Double Kneecap to Inform Prosthetic Design Ostriches are the only animals in the world to have a double kneecap, but its purpose remains an evolutionary mystery. A doctoral student from the Royal Veterinary College, London, England, Sophie Regnault, said that gaining an understanding about...