The Third International Prosthetics Course
Miles H. Anderson
John J. Bray
Charles A. Hennessy
Charles C. Thomas
The Third International Prosthetics Course
August 15-26, 1960
The New York University Post-Graduate Medical School will offer a series of two-week courses in prosthetics in cooperation with the International Society for the Welfare of Cripples, just prior to the 8th World Congress. These courses will constitute the Third International Prosthetics Course sponsored by the Committee on Prostheses, Braces and Technical Aids of the ISWC. They will meet from August 15 to 26, 1960.
Course Content
Separate two-week courses for (1) physicians and surgeons, (2) therapists, and (3) prosthetists will be offered, each meeting from August 15-26.
Course No. 741-1 for Physicians and Surgeons-This course will cover principles of biomechanics, fabrication, fitting, alignment, suspension, harnessing, prescription and evaluation of lower and upper extremity prostheses. Additional topics such as surgical techniques, prosthetic components, performance analysis and training will also be included.
Course No. 742-1 for Physical and Occupational Therapists-Major topics will include pre- and post-operative care, prosthetic components, biomechanics, fitting and alignment principles, prosthetic evaluation and training of both the lower extremity and upper extremity amputee. Special attention will be given to the analysis of amputee performance, methods of prosthetic training, and correction of problems.
Course No. 743-1 for Prosthetists-Major topics to be covered are biomechanics, fabrication procedures, including use of plastics, fitting principles, dynamic alignment, the adjustable leg and duplication jig and suspension methods. Two complete prostheses (one below-knee and one above-knee) will be fabricated and fitted by each student. Additional subjects will include anatomy, surgery, pre- and post-operative care, and prescription principles.
In the area of lower extremity prosthetics, emphasis will be placed on the above-knee quadrilateral socket and the below-knee patellar-tendon-bearing socket. Instruction in upper extremity prosthetics will cover all types of prostheses from the wrist disarticulation to the forequarter. It should also be noted that the materials to be covered in the three courses vary to some extent. This is due to the fact that only the prosthetists' group will actually fabricate prostheses. Since participation in this time-consuming process is not indicated in the physicians' and therapists' curricula, it is possible to include additional topics in these latter courses.
All three courses will include laboratory sessions with amputee patients to afford practical experience in applying the material covered in the lectures and demonstrations. As time permits, a number of sessions in the field of lower extremity orthotics (bracing) will also be included.
Faculty-The regular medical, surgical, therapist, prosthetist, and orthotist faculty at the New York University Post-Graduate Medical School will be augmented by specialists from other clinical, research, and educational institutions within the United States and throughout the world. Although the basic instruction will emphasize the techniques and procedures current in the United States, it is planned that the faculty from other countries will have an opportunity to share information concerning the prosthetic and orthotic techniques used in their own countries.
Registration-The tuition fee for each of these courses will be $50. This fee will include all necessary prosthetic supplies, textual material, and uniforms. This modest tuition fee is possible due to the fact that the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the United States Government is helping defray the costs of conducting this course through a grant to New York University.
Applications and further information concerning these courses may be obtained by writing Sidney Fishman, Ph.D., Director, Prosthetics Education, New York University Post-Graduate Medical School, 342 East 26th Street, New York 10, New York.
Reviews
Prosthetic Principles-Above Knee Amputations
By Miles H. Anderson, John J. Bray, Charles A. Hennessy, Charles C. Thomas, 331 pp., $10.
Reviewed by A. Bennett Wilson
Prosthetists who have attended one of the courses in Above-Knee Prosthetics at either the University of California at Los Angeles or New York University will immediately recognize that this volume is a revision, with additions, of "Manual of Above Knee Prosthetics," published by the University of California, Los Angeles in 1957 and used as a text in the "above-knee" courses.
The section on functional anatomy has been augmented by additional illustrations, and a discussion of the skeletal lever system has been added to the chapter on locomotion. The material covering measurement, socket planning, layout and initial shaping have been largely rearranged and revised. Many of the line drawings have been replaced with excellent photographs. New illustrations in the form of photographs have been added. Also added is a thorough discussion on the use of the so-called "tension analysis" in shaping the socket.
The discussion on the biomechanics of fitting and alignment is essentially unchanged except for the addition of a discussion of the effects of hip extension and adduction. The chapter on initial fitting has been completely rewritten and re-illustrated to provide more detail. The section entitled "How to Assemble the A.K. Socket to the Adjustable Leg" has been replaced by "How to Do Static Alignment," a new assembly procedure developed by the authors as a result of this experience in the Prosthetics Education Program, and some revisions have been made to the procedures for dynamic alignment. Recommended procedures for use of the alignment jig remain unchanged but the photographs are reproduced more clearly.
The discussion on auxiliary suspensions has not been changed except for the deletion of a description of hip joints and the addition of a few illustrations.
"Commercially Available Components" in the "Manual" has been replaced by "How to Apply a Cosmetic Cover to an Above Knee Prosthesis Shin," "How to Prepare a Male SACH Foot," "How to Prepare a Female SACH Foot," and explicit instructions on applying and using the Hydra-Cadence Leg.
Every prosthetist regardless of his experience should have a copy of this book. No doubt it will be used as the standard text in the above-knee prosthetics courses to be held for the next several years.
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