Bluetooth device used to help fit prosthetics better

From The Jackson Citizen-Patriot in Michigan:

Ted Trower carefully slipped a new prosthesis onto Jim Bendele's left knee.

As Bendele stood and moved forward, Trower glanced at several lines forming on his computer screen.

``Those are pretty steps, Jim; there we go, that's what we wanted,'' said Trower, owner of A-S-C Orthotics & Prosthetics in Jackson.

For a long time, Trower relied on his patients' explanations of abnormalities during prosthesis fittings. Now, after acquiring a device that uses Bluetooth signals, Trower can get more accurate readings using his laptop computer.

He fits a small gray box -- called a Compas -- onto the back of a prosthesis and is able to perform a computer-based gait analysis. The analysis is based on readings of a patient's heel-toe and side-to-side foot movements.

Many patients develop neuropathy -- a loss of sensation -- and have a hard time explaining why a prosthesis feels uncomfortable, Trower said.

The Compas sends Trower a set of trend-line readings that show him valuable assessment information, such as how a patient's weight is being distributed. The readings enable him to make more exact corrections.

``It lets me see things that are going on in the socket that were not visible before,'' Trower said. ``This lets me get into the fine-tuning phase that I can do with the real young amputee that I couldn't do with the older group.''

Trower first read about the Compas device online. He contacted the company pioneering its development, OrthoCare Innovations, and got into one of the first instructional classes offered in the United States. He purchased the device out-of-pocket for $8,000 this spring.

``Ted is the kind of prosthetist who is always looking for new innovation,'' said Carol Sorrels, OrthoCare's director of communications. ``He's just been really aggressive in making sure his patients have the latest technology.''

Bendele underwent amputation surgery in 1994 after diabetes caused severe circulation problems in his leg. He knew then he was in for a challenge.

``I kind of accepted I was going to not be able to walk anymore,'' he said.

Shortly after the surgery, Bendele was fitted with his first prosthesis at the prompting of a doctor.

Though the Jackson native now lives in Florida for most of the year, he comes to Trower's office in Jackson for adjustments.

Bendele said he noticed the difference in how the Compas streamlined his recent fitting for a new prosthesis.

``When it starts feeling like my real foot -- the way it's walking -- I know it's right,'' he said.

Though Trower has just recently begun using the gait analysis device, he anticipates the difference it will make as he incorporates it as an everyday tool. The Bluetooth technology allows him to take his laptop virtually anywhere -- even to a track if an athletic patient wants to test a prosthesis while running.

``This is a complete change in how we are going to do things,'' he said.