Edward Lemaire, ISPO president, gave the keynote address and opening remarks. Lemaire said the virtual event helped many to come together in a digital space without the barriers of travel. “This is our first chance to engage everyone globally with the exchange of information in such a way that full participation can happen for everyone around the world,” he said.
Lemaire highlighted the success of ISPO throughout the last five decades. “For 50 years, ISPO has provided an effective platform for the exchange and communication on all aspects of the science and practice associated with the provision of prosthetic and orthotic care, rehabilitation engineering and related areas,” he said.
During his opening remarks, Lemaire said that though telemedicine and 3D printing continue to evolve in today’s digital age, they have been part of the O&P industry for decades.
“3D printing is not new,” he said. “These techniques have been evolving since the 1980s.”
In the early 1990s, distance learning was used to train people on CAD/CAM instruction, Lemaire said. “Years ago, with dial-up modem connections, we were able to provide some remote services over very slow internet connections,” he said.
The event included an exhibit hall, panel discussions, and posters. Eighty-six educational sessions covered upper-and lower-limb prosthetics, orthotics, osseointegration, assistive technology, rehabilitation medicine and surgery, gait analysis, artificial intelligence, and more.
Award presentations were also held.
ISPO awarded the 2019-2020 Forchheimer Prize to Douglas John Matthews, MBBS, BSc, MRSC, and his team members for the topic “UK Trial of Osseointegration Prothesis for Rehabilitation for Amputees: 1995-2018.” Matthews’ work was recognized from more than 120 submissions published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International (POI) in 2019 and 2020.
The Forchheimer prize is awarded to the most outstanding paper on objective clinical assessment, clinical evaluation, or clinical measurement published in POI during the years prior to each ISPO World Congress.
Two reviewers were also recognized with POI’s Elite Reviewer Award: Daniel Heitzmann, Dipl. Ing. (FH), and Goeran Fiedler, PhD, for their work in reviewing articles for publication in POI.
The journal relies on its 23 associate editors and many reviewers, said David Boone, editor in chief. In 2021, POI has received nearly 330 manuscripts for consideration for publication and has used more than 730 reviewers to read articles, Boone said.
Heitzmann said it was an honor to be recognized. “It is my hope that this award continues to encourage other scholars to continue to review articles regularly as this is an essential part of scholarly exchange and discourse,” he said.
The 19th World Congress will be held beginning April 23, 2023, in Guadalajara, Mexico.
