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Potential collaborators are scattered across the globe, alert for research partners. International meetings and competitions are the dating services that bring them together to determine who’s compatible and like-minded enough to pursue a profitable continuing relationship that advances O&P clinical services, education, investigation, and technology. There’s no limit to how far a good match could take participants in terms of measurable results—like joint discoveries, brainchildren that change the direction of future thought and the evolution of progress.
Experts shared their insights about how such matches are made, the value they offer, and what the results look like.
Nurturing Quality Research Through Global Connections
Ashley Mullen, PhD, MSAT, CPO, program director, Baylor College of Medicine, enjoys the global O&P community, and it inspires her to volunteer and bring global conferences like the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) Global Educators Meeting to Houston in 2024. “We’re such a small profession, and the fact that we’re able to make connections outside of our own country offers a lot of opportunities to do research and to collaborate on education, helping to develop programs and improve care. Having that sense of a global profession helps to broaden my mind a bit. Hearing from people who have different perspectives, understanding those perspectives, and coming to the realization that at the end of the day we have common goals is really interesting to me.”
Her work in partnership with the ISPO global educators meeting planning committee led to a group project, resulting in work recently published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International . “It was an opportunity to do O&P education research, and having a collaborator in another country offers a way to access other individuals in their country and their network who might provide important perspectives. So it’s more than just an expansion of a sample.”
Helen Cochrane, MSc, CPO(c), assistant professor and program director, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Technology, University of Pittsburgh , and chair of the ISPO Education Core Committee, agrees that sharing a different perspective can be very helpful.
“When they researched the human genome, the teams didn’t all work on the same aspects. The project was accepted as a whole and broken down into component responsibilities across different teams which optimized resources. Working collaboratively in parallel achieved a quicker, more thorough outcome than one homogeneous team working in series. It’s a good example of how the better you are able to work and collaborate with people, the more opportunity there is to choose different aspects of a problem, find efficient, effective solutions, and use a range of resources across settings or among a group of experts.
“One example is that in P&O research we often have people who have some idea or concept about a piece of technology that they want to build or develop,” she says. “But they may not have the experience or environment that is needed to fully assess the readiness of the design for real-world use. This is a common problem for individuals trying to design technology for less resourced settings. Historically this has led to research activities being carried out without the planning or oversight that would be expected in well-resourced settings, that are typically in place to ensure safety for participants and trust in partner organizations.
“This creates a potentially dangerous situation: If you put an untested prosthesis (or part) on someone who may have little to no access to medical care or insurance, they might perceive that they are receiving a free state-of-the-art device. Then if there is a failure, the leg breaks, they’re injured, the person may be left in a worse condition than they were before.
“International organizations like Exceed Worldwide are working hard to change this approach,” Cochrane explains. “They started their Research Network working with several universities and other stakeholders to develop a collaborative and meaningful framework to ensure good quality research that’s applicable in less resourced settings and has the ability to make meaningful change.
“These types of collaborations wouldn’t happen if a range of stakeholders didn’t go to a conference where somebody got up, presented their work, and then spent time digging deeper and debating beyond the podium,” she says.
“Just like evidence-based practice in the clinical setting, quite a bit of what we do have an experiential component,” she adds. “And if you limit your experiences, you limit your potential for new insights and discoveries. Attending international events can help give exposure to different clinical approaches or technology and can help to build consensus. All of this helps you to formulate decisions, explain options, and defend choices to funding agents, doctors, physical therapists, patients, and their families; it makes you better at what you do every day.”
These types of experiences are especially important as you become more experienced and are the person guiding others, she notes. “If you’re already the smartest or most experienced person in the room, you need to go where you can learn from others—where you have the opportunity to be challenged.”
An international forum of O&P professionals who have already expressed their willingness to step over cultural boundaries in pursuit of knowledge and improved patient care seems like an ideal place to start.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Your Meeting
As an avid ISPO volunteer and presenter, Cochrane keeps track of how the global audience is using their shared experiences: “We work to build off scientific events year over year. For education stakeholders we host a symposium at the ISPO World Congress every other year and have a focused scientific event for prosthetic/orthotic educators in the off year of the congress. Each event is a building block to the next with surveys and focus groups leading to presentations and then the cycle begins again.
“We feel confident that we’ve been effective when we see submissions coming in to the Global Educators Meeting or the World Congress on the basis of what we presented last time.”
Mullen recognizes a direct and immediate benefit to attendees at international meetings, as well as eventual long-term value. “Hopefully their horizons are broadened to different contexts and different approaches and in the best-case scenario there is also an indirect benefit to the patient or client. Because if you have an open mind, you may be taking away new ideas for approaches to O&P care.
“Different O&P practitioners in different parts of the world may have an emphasis or place a higher value on a certain aspect of care, and you can learn from that different standard of care,” she says.
“Many O&P educators are also skilled clinicians or researchers, so their ultimate goal for a positive patient outcome is shared across the board. They may be achieving that goal each in a different way, based on the materials, the facilities, and the access to follow-up care that they have. In my experience, if you get those folks in the same room and we’re talking about their hopes for their patients’ outcomes, that’s where we’re going to see common ground, although we may have different limitations.”
Networking for Value
Antje Feldmann, project director, Confairmed GmbH, organizers of OTWorld Congress, points out that one aspect of international cooperation that is often underestimated is the sustainable networking and transfer of knowledge between experts worldwide.
“The OTWorld.friends initiative is a strong example of this. Numerous associations and professional organizations from over 40 countries support the exchange and contribute to the further development of modern orthopedic treatment and care worldwide.
“Another important area is the promotion of young international talent. The Youth.Academy TO brings together young professionals of different nationalities to learn in an interdisciplinary way and develop a deeper understanding of treatment approaches worldwide. Every two years, young professionals come together at OTWorld, the largest ‘family reunion’ in the field.”
May 2024’s Youth.Academy attracted over 400 young professionals and students from all fields of technical orthopedics for an opportunity to gain new inspiration for their future careers.
Who Benefits the Most?
“OTWorld creates added value at several levels and for different target groups,” Feldmann says. “Service providers, such as prosthetists and orthotists, orthopedic footwear professionals, rehabilitation technicians, and homecare specialists benefit from practical workshops, the latest scientific findings, and a direct exchange with international colleagues. This is where specific ideas for their own work arise, be it through new treatment concepts, improved materials, or the use of digital technologies.
“Patients benefit from the latest findings that specialists in all disciplines acquire at OTWorld and incorporate directly into their daily work. They also experience improved treatment in the long term because it offers a platform for manufacturers and developers to align medical aids even more closely with real-world treatment needs.
“Ultimately, OTWorld is a catalyst for innovations that are not only discussed within the field of modern orthopedic treatment and care but also put into practice worldwide.”
Collaboration Versus Competition
When comparing competitive events like Cybathlon and the Paralympics with international conferences like ISPO, which is most effective in encouraging greater progress in evolving O&P technology?
Roland Sigrist, cohead, Cybathlon, points out that at conferences, one can present results and videos, which are a scientific approach to proof concepts. “At Cybathlon, the pilots are using the assistive technology, and the device needs to work on spot. It needs to be reliable, as in daily life. This is extremely challenging for the developers and pushes them to make the device perfectly ready for the day of the competition. Proving that the pilot can use the device under pressure, reliably, with full functionality, is very rewarding for the whole team. The team can show the world, together with the other teams, what is possible, and at the same time, is rewarded by the audience around the world.
“The communication aspect of the competition allows the team to get media attention, and with that, potential sponsors and funding.”
Taking the World’s Pulse: Fueling the Future
“Every two years, the OTWorld Congress offers a diverse program covering all core topics in orthopedic treatment and care,” says Feldmann. “Traditionally, there is particularly great interest in the areas of prosthetics, orthotics, and orthopedic footwear technology, as well as in digitalization topics, which have been of interest for years.
“In 2022, the focus was not only on the classical treatment areas but also, in particular, on sports orthopedics. In 2024, the focus was on pediatric/adolescent, and neuro-orthopedics—both topics met with a great response from the specialist visitors. In 2026, the topic of rehabilitation will be in focus.
“Each congress topic is examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, including prosthetics and orthotics, orthopedic footwear technology, medicine, physiotherapy, research, and practice—be it in symposia or practical workshops. In particular, less common treatment areas, which could be described as ‘niche topics,’ find a platform here. After all, where, if not at a world congress, can trade visitors from over 60 countries exchange ideas on highly specialized issues?
“The willingness to present even rare aspects of treatment is therefore great. This is evident each time from the numerous submissions in response to the call for papers, which is currently running for OTWorld 2026.
“One of the most remarkable developments in recent years is the increased interest in treatment in times of war and crisis, a topic that has become even more important with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022 and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,” Feldman says.
“OTWorld also plays a crucial role in orthopedic treatment and care in crisis areas. It serves as a platform for the exchange of ideas and the formation of partnerships to ensure appropriate treatment in special situations. This topic will also play a central role at OTWorld 2026 when it comes to international cooperation for crisis treatment. OTWorld shows that global cooperation can sustainably ensure knowledge transfer, innovation and better patient treatment.”
