As you may recall, there was a contest in the last eNewsletter to see who could correctly name the I-LIMB HAND based on the picture alone. 

The March eNewsletter was distributed just after midnight on March 24th and Amy Bouchard of North Carolina won at 7:17am. 

Amy, pictured below, is a wife and mother of 5 who will be moving to the Dayton area next month. 

Amy's husband's name is Noel and their 5 children are Cole, Jessica, Madeleine, Jacqueline, and Helen. 

Amy shared a family challenge they endured last year on April 9th... she had a 6 inch circumference brain tumor successfully removed!  She also shared the fact that the brain surgery wasn't the only challenge they have endured... their youngest child, Helen, is 3 years young and had a congenital birth defect PFFD with Boyd's amputation at the age of 1. 

Amy and Noel have chosen Optimus Prosthetics to be their new/local prosthetic resource for young Helen and we, at Optimus Prosthetics, look forward to meeting the Bourchards.

John Brandt and Scott Schall of Optimus Prosthetics attended a seminar in Detroit along with Jim Scharf, PTA and patient Ali Safi (pictured at right)

The seminar was conducted by Robert Gailey, PhD, PT who is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine's Department of Physical Therapy. 

The seminar was hosted by Ossur America.  The agenda included a review of biomechanics of transfemoral amputee gait and gait assessment, clinical applications of the RHEO knee, and intermediate and advanced gait training.
 

 

Not only will April 15th last month be remembered as TAX DAY but it also marked the first time that the 3rd course in the series of 8 was presented, "Transfemoral Prosthetics".  

Scott Schall stated, "I presented to Trinity Nursing Home of Beavercreek in the morning and Heartland of Centerville during lunch.  Although I think the new course was well-received, I think the prosthetic knee overview was too in-depth.  I plan on fine-tuning this section by providing several case studies to better explain why certain types of knees are indicated for certain patients". 

Not only has the 3rd course been launched, but the 4th course was first delivered to the therapy group at Koester Pavillion in Troy on 5/14/09. 

The 4th course is titled, "Amputee Mobility Predictor" which covers an assessment tool that therapists, prosthetists and physicians can use to predict the current functional level of an amputee with or without a prosthesis.  John Brandt stated, "The Amputee Mobility Predictor has become more and more important in our practice as a form of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM)."  Optimus Prosthetics is using the AMP to assess new patients as well as existing prosthetic-wearers who may have progressed through rehabilitation to the next functional level.