The ISPO Canada/ OAPO/ AAOP Education day and AGM was held virtually on Saturday, October 28, 2023.
The morning started with the Ontario Assoctioation for Prosthetics and Orthotics (OAPO) AGM followed by a presentation by our first keynote speaker, Dr. Virgine Blanchette on the Partnership with the patient and their family.
Virginie Blanchette, PhD is an associate professor in podiatric medicine at the
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières and a researcher at VITAM: Sustainable Health Research Centre. Her research focuses on prevention and optimized management of diabetic foot ulcers in primary care. She is also interested in enhanced team approach in limb preservation. Her aim is to enhance care in partnership with the individual, notably through shared decision-making.
Next Dr. Susan Hunter presented on Environmental factors and their role in quality of life in people with lower limb loss. Dr. Hunter PT PhD is an Associate Professor in the School of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests are the rehabilitation of geriatric patients and their experience of falls, frailty and mobility decline. She also has an interest in rehabilitation of people with lower limb loss, in particular rehabilitation outcomes in the older person and fall prevention including risk factors for falls, concern for falling and how it is assessed, and cognitive-motor effects in learning to walk with a
prosthesis.
The second clinical presentation was Dr. Sara Morgan, who spoke on Nighttime bracing for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
Dr. Morgan’s research focuses on clinically-meaningful outcomes related to
operative and non-operative treatments for scoliosis, comparative effectiveness of scoliosis treatments, and the development of clinical guidelines to inform evidence-based care.
Finally, Dr. Jacqueline Hebert wrapped up presentations by sharing her experiences on Bone-anchored prostheses for limb amputation. She is a professor, at the University of Alberta and a physiatrist at the Adult Amputation Rehabilitation program at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Canada. As a clinical investigator, her research goal is to facilitate the implementation of rehabilitation technology to maximize function and quality of life after amputation, and to create a sound evidence base to assist with clinical decision making. Dr. Hebert was instrumental in bringing the first Targeted Reinnervation program for upper limb amputation in Canada, and established a research program for advanced motor control and sensory feedback systems for prosthetic devices in the “Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control (BLINC)” Lab.
We would like to thank our bronze sponsors: OrtoPed, Ottobock, Vittoria Pheonix. The organizing team at OAPO, AAOP and ISPO Canada deserve mention, as well as Rita Gupta of Live Wire Consulting, who helped run the on-line event.
The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics Canada 