Low Cost Laser Alignment Tool
Thanks to Gary, Sid and the other staff at Sampson's Prosthetic Orthotic Lab in upstate New York for letting me know about a self-leveling laser alignment tool they have found very useful to capture alignment in the fitting room and maintain it during the fabrication process. Otto Bock introduced this technology into prosthetic and orthotic practice several years ago, and it has proven to be faster and more accurate than using the traditional plumb bob [or bubble level] to mark vertical reference lines on the cast, socket, etcetera. Like most electronic equipment, such laser line-generating technology was fairly expensive when it first became available.
In recent years, the building industry has adopted the use of precision lasers for a variety of tasks where it is important to have an accurate vertical reference line. Thanks to the economies of scale that result when such devices are sold in huge quantities, the price of laser levels has dropped from thousands to less than a hundred dollars. But, most of the non-medical laser devices were better suited to hanging wallpaper than to capturing prosthesis or orthosis alignment.
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That has all changed now, thanks to the Zircon company. They make a compact device [about 5 cm or 2 inches square] that runs 12 hours continuously on one AA battery and projects a vertical ruby laser line onto any object. It comes in a kit that includes special plastic glasses to make the line more visible in brightly lit rooms, although I found it quite easy to see in a typical fitting room.
It can be placed on the floor, on a counter, a chair seat, or on any approximately level surface. A very clever pendulum mechanism makes it self-leveling within +/- 5 degrees, so the projected line is absolutely plumb even if the surface it sits on is not!
This feature makes this the most practitioner-friendly device of its kind that I have ever seen. Just place the device on a fairly level surface near the patient, turn it on, and a crystal clear ruby line is projected vertically on the socket or cast. It is simple to mark a few reference dots where the line intersects the prosthesis or orthosis to capture a para-sagittal or para-coronal reference line. Compared to using a plumb bob, this is faster, more accurate, and doesn't require squinting!
The cost for upgrading your office to laser precision? Less than $50, at your local discount building supply megastore. For more details, go to www.zircon.com.