Alignment Systems Step Forward

Jay Martin, CP, uses the Compas system to calibrate Jim Bob Bizzell’s alignment. Photograph courtesy of Orthocare Innovations.

Any prosthetist will tell you that a successfully fitted prosthesis depends, in part, on achieving the proper alignment. And yet learning to make alignment adjustments through observational gait analysis—not to mention becoming comfortably proficient at it—is no easy task. Not only does it involve classroom training and perhaps years of on-the-job experience, it also relies on keen observation and communication skills. Even the most proficient prosthetists will admit that achieving “perfect” alignment is out of their reach.