One night I had a thought so terrifying, I sat straight up in bed. “What if everything we’re doing with orthoses is wrong?”
Orthotics & Prosthetics is one of the oldest practice areas of medicine. And it’s gone relatively unchanged for centuries. If James Edward Hanger awoke today, he could fit a patient with a metal & leather brace and few people would know he was using technology and techniques from the 1800s!
So I started with a clean sheet of paper and a mindset completely free of what’s been done in the past. I asked myself a new question: “What would happen if we started from scratch with orthoses?”
Orthoses do not mimic the human body. The human body is an endoskeleton; rigid structure on the inside, soft tissue on the outside. Whether its metal & leather, plastic or composite, when we place an orthosis on a patient, we are making a part of them an exoskeleton. People are not lobsters!
So, what could we do that would mimic the human body’s endoskeleton with an external device?
From this thought process, the Freedom Fabrication 2nd Skin was born. All the orthoses in the 2nd Skin simulate the functioning of the human body.
The key difference with a 2nd Skin orthosis is that it targets the pathology and repairs the disorder with minimal side effects. Using a combination of artificial tendons for control & support, and a flexible shell to provide maximum comfort, these devices offer design possibilities previously unheard of in the world of orthotics.
The bottom line is that the 2nd Skin acts like people act, and by utilizing a 2nd Skin orthoses in your practice, it will enhance your patient’s recovery time.
For more detailed information on the 2nd Skin Orthoses, or to discuss how the 2nd Skin Orthoses can help your patient’s unique needs, please call Tony Wickman, CTPO at 1-800-304-3733.