Technology

Prosthetics // Orthotics // Orthopedic Soft Goods

Our diversified practice provides a full range of orthotic services.

• NESS L300™ Foot Drop System
• S.W.A.S.H.®
• Charleston Bending Brace
• Sports Orthoses
• Pediatric
• Acute Through Rehabilitative Services
• Neurophysiological Designs
• Pre- and Post-Surgical Orthotic Components
• Pedorthics

Advanced technology products include:

The NESS L300™ Foot Drop System, from Bioness Inc., is at the forefront of innovation in functional electrical stimulation (FES) therapy. The system is wireless, portable, and programmable, and the settings can be fine-tuned while the patient is actually walking. The system has three components: a gait sensor worn in the shoe, a wireless stimulating leg cuff worn below the knee, and a clinician-programmed control unit. When the gait sensor detects "heel off," it sends a message to the leg cuff, which then stimulates the leg muscles to lift the foot accordingly. The advanced Intelli-Sense Gait Sensor™ technology of the NESS L300 allows patients to achieve a more normalized gait on changing terrains and at varying speeds.

The S.W.A.S.H.® - standing, walking, and sitting hip orthosis - from Allard USA is a hip stabilization and sitting orthosis offering controlled variable abduction. It is engineered with a complex series of angles to maintain good hip alignment as the uprights follow the pathways of motion of the femurs. While standing or walking, the S.W.A.S.H. provides just enough abduction to prevent scissoring and medial femoral rotation. As the hips are flexed to assume the sitting position, it automatically further abducts the hips to create a tripod base for enhanced sitting stability and more upright posture.

The Charleston Bending Brace is a nocturnal brace, worn only while sleeping, allowing the patient to participate in normal daytime activities.

Fabricated from molded plastic and held in place by three straps that allow for adjustment, the brace is customized for each patient. It works by putting bending forces at certain specific locations on the patient’s spine. Since bone grows in response to stresses placed on it, these forces over time alter growth rates of the vertebrae. When wearing the brace, the patient’s body is bending toward where the brace is pushing.

The Charleston bending Brace also works on the principal that if the spine can be bend to change how it grows at the time of day when most growing occurs, the direction of the spinal curve can successfully changed a well. Studies indicate that children and adolescents grow in response to the levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) in their bodies. Because growth hormone release peaks between the hours of midnight and 2 a.m., using a night bracing system may have the most lasting impact on spinal curvature.