Delcam has finalized the program for the Orthotics Technology Forum to be held at Loyola University, Chicago, from 4th to 6th June. Keynote speakers will be biomechanics expert Peter Cavanagh, PhD, DSc, and Professor Jim Woodburn, Director of Glasgow Caledonian University. For the full program and to book a place, please visit www.orthotics-technology-forum.com
Like the previous meetings in the series, including the successful North American event in 2013 at Georgia Tech University, the meeting in Chicago will cover new technologies and processes designed to assist practitioners and laboratories in prescribing, designing and manufacturing custom orthotic insoles. The 2014 European Forum will be held at the Evoluon Centre in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, on 18th September.
The OTF brings together leading providers and academics in the orthotics area into one forum to present and discuss technologies that are available today and that are coming in the future. Topics to be covered include 3D scanning, CADCAM, materials, and additive, subtractive and automated manufacturing.
Peter Cavanagh, endowed Chair in Women’s Sports Medicine and professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle, will deliver the forum’s keynote address, "Evidence for the efficacy of insoles based on shape and plantar pressure.” Dr. Cavanagh is a prolific author who has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, primarily on lower extremity biomechanics, and has received significant recognition for his work, including the Muybridge Medal from the International Society of Biomechanics, the Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics, and the Edward J. Olmos Award for Advocacy in Amputation Prevention, awarded annually at the Diabetic Foot Global Conference. He is also a principal in Diapedia, a research and development company exploring ways to prevent diabetic foot ulcers.
Other speakers on the opening day will include Scott Telfer, Research Fellow currently seconded to University of Washington, who will present on finite element modeling of the diabetic foot, and Dr. Geza Kogler, Coordinator of Research at Georgia Tech School of Applied Physiology Prosthetic and Orthotics, who will update the audience on the latest research at the School.
One of the emerging topics that will be presented and discussed at the event will be the possibility of using additive manufacturing or 3D printing, rather than machining for the creation of custom orthotic insoles. Presentations will be given showing how to make the best of both the additive and subtractive approaches, with an Open Forum providing an opportunity for the delegates to question industry experts from both sides of the debate.
Both techniques will be demonstrated during a tour of the Loyola University facilities, together with the other equipment available at the University.
