Abstract
The 12th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics was held in Vancouver, Canada, from 29 July to 3 August 2007. The Congress was a tremendous success. Over 1600 delegates representing 67 countries attended the meeting. The exhibition was outstanding and was well attended by enthusiastic delegates eager to learn about the latest materials, products, and technological innovations. The social program offered opportunities for delegates to meet and talk informally. Building on the success of ISPO 2004 in Hong Kong, Consumer Day involved consumer delegates in the exhibition and the scientific programs. The conference centre filled with consumers attending workshops, training sessions and the exhibitions. Consumer Day has proven itself and should become a regular feature in future world congresses.
The Congress Scientific Program was documented in the Proceedings (Bach et al. 2007), which was provided to all delegates and is available to others on request. This Special Issue of Prosthetics and Orthotics International presents some of the conference highlights, including keynote speeches and prize winning papers.
Keynote addresses
At the Opening Ceremony, David Condie was awarded the Knud Jansen Medal for his lifetime contribution to prosthetics and orthotics. In delivering the Knud Jansen lecture, he reflected on the scientific progress of orthotics throughout his distinguished career. He stressed the need to continue to build an evidence base for orthotics in order to “learn both why and how effective our treatments are”. We are delighted to include a paper by David Condie based on his lecture in this Special Issue.
The 2007 Congress theme was Moving beyond Disability and the first plenary address for the Congress addressed this theme. In his keynote address, Dr Jan Geertzen, president-elect of the Society, noted that “Moving beyond Disability suggests a change in focus from disability or impairment to the broader perspective of the overall health of individuals with disabilities”. He asked: “What does ‘Moving beyond Disability’ mean? Is it possible to dream while sitting in a wheelchair up a tree? Can one still be able to read a book, while completely paralysed? Are you able to swim with your friend who is a child with CP? Will you be able to participate in sports following an amputation? Can a person have a sexual relationship when they are severely disabled? In a world which has truly moved beyond disability, the answer to these questions would be ‘Yes!’”. Previous congresses have emphasized the physical disability and treatment of the disability. The theme of this World Congress offered an opportunity to refocus on the overall health of individuals with disabilities. Dr Geertzen's address also discussed the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) and its implications for rehabilitation management.
In a related address, Dr Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention, spoke of the importance of the relationship between WHO and ISPO. He said that “ISPO is an important partner for WHO in all the efforts that promote and reinforce mobility devices and rehabilitation services … . This conference is a necessary step in looking at how practitioners and academics can play roles in making the paradigm shift and moving beyond the old approaches and attitudes to people with disabilities”.
The main theme of the Congress was further developed by plenary addresses on each day of the Congress. The sub themes addressed technical developments, social barriers, aid programs in developing countries, and education for the profession.
‘Moving Swifter, Higher, Stronger’, the theme for the second plenary session, evoked the Olympic motto. This plenary session outlined recent technical developments in surgery and engineering that have enabled much more sophisticated control and feedback for externally powered upper limb prostheses. The keynote speaker, Dr Todd Kuiken, spoke on this theme as it was reflected in the novel work he directs at the Neural Engineering Centre for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
The medical model of disability views disability as a health condition requiring treatment by healthcare professionals. The social model views disability as a social problem requiring social action and social policy solutions. Professor Yutaka Takamine from the University of the Ryukyus in Japan discussed the social aspects of disability in his plenary address on ‘Moving Social Boundaries’. He discussed ways in which governments, NGOs and advocacy groups are motivating change. He noted the importance of United Nations initiatives such as the WHO International Classification of Functioning and the UN Convention of the Rights and Dignity of people with Disability. In his conclusion, Professor Takamine pleaded for a more enlightened society. “With a view to moving social boundaries and achieving empowerment of persons with disabilities, we need to create an inclusive society for all that celebrates all types of difference in terms of gender, age and disability”.
In his plenary address on ‘Moving beyond Borders’ David Constantine, co-founder of Motivation International, talked about the approach of his organisation to disability projects in developing countries. Their projects involve design of simpler, less expensive devices, with local methods of production which are more easily adapted to the country concerned, more appropriate to the needs of most disabled persons, and more readily available to consumers.
The ‘Moving beyond Borders’ theme is critical for the worldwide consumer community. It has been estimated that 80% of all disabled persons in developing countries live in isolated rural areas. In some countries, the disabled population is estimated to be as high as 20%. In many developing countries, resources are insufficient to detect and prevent disability or to meet the need for the rehabilitation and supportive services of the disabled population. Trained personnel, research into newer and more effective rehabilitation strategies and approaches, and the manufacturing and provision of aids and equipment for disabled persons are required. Many people need simple equipment to facilitate mobility, communication, and daily living.
The prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) profession will advance through basic, post-basic, and continuing education. However, the small size of the profession and wide dispersion of teaching centres pose special problems for the delivery of P&O education. In his plenary address on ‘Moving the Profession’, ISPO President, Dan Blocka, addressed problems facing educators in industrialized countries and low-income nations. These problems include the high cost of P&O education and the obstacles to effective continuing education. In his address, Mr Blocka emphasised the need to train many more clinicians to meet the needs of the world's disabled citizens. He also discussed the political and technological forces which are shaping our approach to education.
In this Special Issue, we are very happy to publish papers based on the addresses by Dr Jan Geertzen, Dr Etienne Krug, Professor Yutaka Takamine, and ISPO President, Dan Blocka.
Prize papers
At each triennial World Congress, a number of prizes are offered by the Society for outstanding contributions to prosthetic and orthotic science and practice.
The Forchheimer Prize is awarded for the most outstanding paper on objective clinical assessment, clinical evaluation, or clinical measurement published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International during the three years prior to the Congress. The Forscheimer Prize for 2007 was awarded to Dr Todd Kuiken for his paper titled ‘The use of targeted muscle reinnervation for improved myoelectric prosthesis control in a bilateral shoulder disarticulation amputee’ (Kuiken 2004).
The Center for International Rehabilitation Yeongchi Wu International Educational Award is awarded to recognize contributions that prosthetic and orthotic professionals from low-income countries make to the development of the prosthetic and orthotic field. In 2007, the prize was awarded to Sisary Kheng for her paper presented at the Congress titled ‘The challenges of upgrade from ISPO Category II level to bachelor degree level’.
The Brian Blatchford Prize is awarded to an individual with an outstanding record of innovative achievement in the field of prosthetics and/or orthotics. The winner of the Blatchford Prize for 2007 was Marlo Ortiz for his contributions to ischial containment socket design.
We are pleased to include a paper by Ms Sisary Kheng in this Special Issue.
In addition to prizes awarded by the Society, the Organizing Committee for the 12th World congress offered a number of best paper prizes. Papers were nominated for prizes by members of the Editorial Committee for the Congress. For each best paper prize, a selection panel was appointed consisting of knowledgeable, highly respected, and independent delegates to the Congress. Selection panels reviewed the nominated abstracts, attended the presentations, and selected the best paper based on criteria prepared by the Scientific Committee for the Congress.
The best paper prize categories and the winning authors in each category were:
Advancing Clinical Treatment: B. Meikle, T. Pauley and M. Devlin. ‘Driving pedal reaction times following right transtibial amputations’; Advancing Education: M. J. Cole, J. Morris, and A. Scammell. ‘The challenges of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for physiotherapists working as lone practitioners in amputee rehabilitation’; Advancing Psychosocial Science: Brian Callaghan, Marie Johnston and Elizabeth Condie ‘Using the self-regulation model to determine psychological predictors of prosthetic use, independence and mobility’; Advancing Technology: Isamu Kajitani and Tetsuya Higuchi. ‘A myoelectric sensor with insulating electrodes'; Best Poster Prize: Pamela Gallagher and Deirdre Desmond. ‘Assessing psychosocial outcomes: Trinity amputation and prosthesis experience scales'.
We are pleased to include full papers from many of these prize-winning authors in this Special Issue. A full paper by Meikle and co-authors has been published elsewhere, (Meikle 2006).
Conclusion
Based on feedback from delegates, the Scientific Program for the 12th World Congress was an outstanding success. This Special Issue provides a lasting and permanent record of a number of highlights of the Congress. We thank the Executive Board of the Society and the Editors of the journal for supporting this initiative.
The science and innovation demonstrated at the 12th World Congress is indicative of a profession moving rapidly ahead. We look forward with great anticipation to the next triennium.
Peter J. Kyberd, PhD
Timothy M. Bach, PhD
Edward D. Lemaire, PhD
Sheila Hubbard, PT/OT, BSc