An Össur representative explains prosthetic features and innovations to trade show attendees. Photograph courtesy of Leipziger Messe/Tom Schulze.
About 20,400 visitors from more than 80 countries attended OTWorld, formerly the ORTHOPÄDIE + REHA-TECHNIK (O+R) International Trade Show and World Congress International Trade Show and World Congress, at the Leipzig Fair and Exhibition Center, Germany. More than a third of the visitors and almost half of the exhibitors came from outside Germany. The event combines the areas of compression therapy, orthotics, prosthetics, orthopedic footwear and technology, podiatry, and rehabilitation technology, and the focus was on innovation, interdisciplinary approaches, and global networks. With an area of 44,000 square feet spanning two exhibition halls, this year’s OTWorld was the largest event in its history; both floor space and attendance numbers were up 5 percent compared to 2012 figures.
The congress program brought together orthopedic technicians and shoemakers, engineers, medical practitioners, orthotists, prosthetists, and therapists from around the world to network and exchange ideas and developments in their respective fields. The professional development sessions, in which attendees were given the opportunity to learn more and gain specific information about products, techniques, and services, were the most popular offerings.
“This unique opportunity for industry, the skilled trades, the academic, scientific, and medical communities to get together ensures that the agenda is set for treatments using modern aids, prostheses, and orthoses-and not only in Germany,” said Klaus-Jürgen Lotz, president of the German Association of Orthopaedic Technology.
Lotz was a keynote speaker on Tuesday; his presentation was titled “Prosthetics and Orthotics in a Changing Society.” He also was co-chair of a session, titled “Effectiveness and Profitability of the Prosthetic-Orthotic Treatment – Priority Setting vs. Future Concepts.” Other O&P-related presentations included “Problem Area: Hygiene in Prosthetics and Orthotics,” “Orthotics and Prosthetics – Need and Value in Latin America,” and “From Acute Care to Rehabilitation.”
“Innovations in technology, research, and the treatment of patients all come together here at OTWorld, and the entire sector gains from the symbiosis in every respect,” said Wolfram Mittelmeier, Prof. Dr. med. Habil., president of the Scientific Committee for the World Congress. “And the gains are specifically on behalf [of] those who are affected by a disability, and are thus all about effective treatment for patients.”
The next OTWorld is slated for May 3-6, 2016, in Leipzig.
