Clinical Education: CAH Information CD

David Hoy, CPO has put together a very well thought out multimedia CD on the clinical rationale behind his Camber Axis Hinge and its application to AFOs, in addition to technical information on fabrication. The menus and navigation within the CD are very well thought out and quite intuitive.

The main points in each section are illustrated with professionally drawn images that clearly depict the essence of the discussion, which is both narrated and on-screen. The NAV button in the lower right corner lets you step through familiar material quickly, or back up to listen to a key point one more time.

The technical information includes a very nice fabrication sequence, details on adjusting the range of motion, and similar practical points. More importantly, the CD explains the biomechanical rationale for selected AFOs, including a very concise explanation of the reason that the functional ankle axis is considered to be centered at the distal apex of the malleoli. Most concepts presented are backed up with literature citations, including hyperlinks for those who want to read the original source material.

There are also clips from a gait lab study on the effect on plantarflexion angle on the gait of a child with cerebral palsy wearing bilateral AFOs, clearly showing the effect on no orthosis, insufficient plantarflexion, and excessive plantarflexion. This provides a good illustration of why the orthotist selects a particular plantarflexion attitude to optimize the gait characteristics for each individual patient. You can download three samples of the video clips here: Shoes Only (0.4MB mpg), Free Ankle Motion Progressive AFO (0.4MB mpg), and Plantar-Locked Progressive AFO (0.5MB mpg).

Finally, there is an optional exam to earn Professional Continuing Education credits from ABC, and to verify comprehension of the material covered. There are very few continuing education CDs devoted to orthotic topics, and fewer yet that do such a good job of using the medium interactively. Free copies can be obtained by contacting Becker Orthopedic at CAH Educational CD.

Reader Comments: Read all user comments You have done very good job Hi all Brilliant site! Nice work... - Gaymen   6/6/2006 400Lb patient for a patient 36 years old who is in excess of 400 lbs and a community ambulator, with a knee disarticulation amputation, what if any knee is available? OWW no longer makes exo set ups and 350lbs is the highest weigth limit I can find. Any... read more - bill goldberg   5/12/2006 Re: 400Lb patient I can't think of any TF knees, whether KD style or not, rated higher than 350 pounds but perhaps a reader can. Otherwise, contact RehabTECH in Australia via email at rehab.tech@eng.monash.edu.au and request a copy of their report "Componen... read more - John Michael   5/12/2006 Roy Snelson, CPO (E). Ciudad de Mexico 27 de Abril, 2006. Estimado John Michael CPO, FAAOP. Enviamos nuestro mas sentido pesame por el fallecimiento del maestro Roy Snelson, CPO (E), el pasado 24 de Abril. Tuvimos la oportunidad de conocer personalmente al Sr.... read more - Alberto E. Castillo Moreno O. P.   4/27/2006 Re: Roy Snelson, CPO (E). Thank you, Sr. Castillo, for these words of remembrance about Roy Snelson. He was one of the giants in the field whose drive and wry humor helped the profession to evolve. --John Michael CPO - John Michael   4/29/2006 CAH information Hi I will pass on the fabrication part and go to the gait videos. After looking at the videos several times I am not sure the AFO’s really help. You could hear more noise at toe strike, with both AFO’s. One of the problems with the gai... read more - John Russell   4/3/2006 Re: CAH information To clarify, John, the video clips excerpted here are specifically intended to illusturate incorrect use of AFOs: too little and too much plantarflexion limitation respectively. The actual CD has a larger series of video vignettes so you ca... read more - John Michael   4/29/2006 informacion me pareceiomuy buena su pagina, yo soy ingeniero mecanico y vengo desarrollando una investigacion sobre protesis de tobillo articulado, mi interes es poder fabricar un tobillo adecuado para mejorar la marcha de las personas con discapacidad... read more - igor   3/20/2006 Re: informacion This is an important developemnt that is being pursued by a number of researchers around the world but has not yet been fully achieved. I am pleased if this Corner contributes to your work. --John Michael CPO - John Michael   3/30/2006 Re: informacion Edito en Buenos Aires una guia de proveedores para ortopedias (grafica y web) llamada NUCLEO ORTOPEDICO en la que tratamos de incluir notas interesantes a los ortesistas y protesistas. Lei su comentario en la pagina de oandp y deseo invitar... read more - norma maddalena   3/30/2006 Carta a mi Bisabuelo: Ciudad de Mexico 7 de Marzo, 2006. Estimado John Michael CPO, FAAOP: Para los practicantes en protesis de hoy en dia es mucho mas sencillo diseñar, elaborar y adaptar una protesis para una persona amputada de la extremidad inferior, si lo ... read more - Alberto E. Castillo Moreno O. P.   3/7/2006 Re: Carta a mi Bisabuelo: Thank you for this commentary, Sr. Castillo. I too was struck by how well the best of our predecessors did with only intuition and commitment to guide their efforts: on of the principle messages from Greg's epistle. Today's vastly more so... read more - John Michael   3/8/2006