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Prosthetics Leaders Plot Future

Prosthetics leaders from across the world are meeting in Oklahoma City this week to bridge a gap between early-stage development and commercialization of new prosthetic devices.

Such an action plan has been missing in the field, said Doug McCormack, chief executive officer of Orthocare Innovations, whose foundation is sponsoring Prosthetics 2020.

"We recognize a gap in the industry in terms of any sense of cohesive, coherent research agenda in the field of prosthetics that would map out where the field needs to go over a 10-year time," McCormack said.  "This meeting is not just a gathering of researchers, but a gathering of clinicians as well to ensure that clinicians have a voice in the research and development efforts that are planned.  Clinicians don't always interact with researchers, and researchers at a university may never have been in a clinical setting.  We thought it would be beneficial to bring the two voices together and combine their perspectives."

Between 70 and 80 researchers, engineers and prosthetists from several states, as well as Australia, Canada and Germany, are attending the symposium.  It's not a typical industry gathering with lots of keynote speakers, nor will anyone be touting a specific product, McCormack said.  Rather, the participants primarily will be working in small groups to brainstorm an agenda for the next decade.

Because prosthetics research often doesn't make the journey to commercialization and clinical use, participants will determine ways to get there, a move that has been identified as a priority by the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, McCormack said.

"From our perspective, the window has been wide open with returning Afghanistan and Iraq vets who've lost limbs.  It's been a signature injury of the war effort," he said.  "But with Iraq ramping down and Afghanistan still an issue, it's not a front and center issue, like it was.  A signature question for us will be whether the commitment still exists in the way that it did earlier in the war effort where there was a willingness to invest to ensure the highest quality of care was provided to injured service men and women."

The technology of prosthetics also will change significantly over the next 10 years as more adapative systems are developed, said Dr. David Boone, chief technology officer of Orthocare Innovations.  The future of prosthetics is in the devices that better adapt to the user's needs in real time, he said.  Prosthetics traditionally have been unable to change with a person's needs or environment, he said, but a shift is occurring.  Prosthetics can now be powered by the energy a person generates as he moves, which results in a more natural experience, he said.  

This week's collaboration may well lead to the next advancement, Boone said.

"I hope to be surprised by the ideas people have about the future," he said.  "We'll be asking people to stretch their imaginations about where prosthetics and artificial limbs will be in 2020.  I think the ultimate goal is that people with artificial limbs forget entirely that they have them."