Ottobock Virtual Symposium for Healthcare Professionals.
Latest Evidence – The Impact of Early Patient Access to MPKs for Benefits on General Health.
Join us for an insightful online symposium exploring new clinical evidence, highlighting the impact of microprocessor-controlled knee prostheses (MPKs) on mobility, cognitive load, and quality of life in individuals with transfemoral or knee-disarticulation amputations.
The “Latest Evidence – The Impact of Early Patient Access to MPKs for Benefits on General Health.” symposium will cover the following key topics by renowed experts:
Insights on outcomes utilization in a K2 population: Gain valuable insights on the latest released clinical findings from the ASCENT K2 study – with lower levels of activity avoidance due to fear-of-falling, reduced falls and near-falls as opposed to non MPKs (NMPKs).
Research insights on early rehabilitation with MPKs: Discover evidence on the effectiveness of early specialized rehabilitation with MPKs.
Deep dive on how cognitive load and brain activity influence gait with lower limb prostheses.
Don’t miss this opportunity to stay at the forefront of clinical research in individuals with MPKs to support evidence-based decision-making and for support in achieving the best possible outcomes". Together we can encourage a mindset shift in prosthetic care from selective use to earlier patient access.
Virtual Symposium.
Tuesday 14th, October 2025, 16:00 – 17:30 CET
16:00 | Introduction and Welcome Dipl.-Ing. Merkur Alimusaj |
16:05 | Improving Outcomes for Lower-Functioning Amputees: Findings from a Randomized Trial and Medicare Claims Analysis of MPKs in the K2 Population. Shane Wurdeman, PhD, CP, FAAOP(D) |
16:25 | Paying Attention: Cognitive Load and Brain Activity when Walking with a Lower Limb Prosthesis. Saffran Möller, PhD, P.T. |
16:45 | Results of an Observational Study on Early Rehabilitation after Transfemoral Amputation using MPKs as the First Prosthetic Knee in Patients in Germany. Dr. med. Johannes Schröter |
17:05 | Panel Discussion |
17:30 | Wrap up and closing |
Registration for this virtual symposium.
After completing the registration process successfully, the link to watch the recording of the symposium will be promptly sent to the e-mail address provided during registration.
Dipl.-Ing. Merkur Alimusaj
University Clinic Heidelberg, Head of Technical Orthopaedics, Department for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegia - Heidelberg, Germany
University Clinic Heidelberg, Head of Technical Orthopaedics, Department for Orthopaedics, Trauma Surgery and Paraplegia (Germany). Merkur Alimusaj completed an apprenticeship in prosthetics and orthotics in 1999 and worked until 2005 at several P&O clinics. In 2006 he additionally received his degree as an engineer in rehabilitation techniques at the University of Applied Science in Giessen (Hessen, Germany). He worked since 2005 at the Heidelberg Motion Lab and he is guiding since that time several studies in the field of prosthetics and orthotics. He turned out to be the head of the prosthetics and orthotics department at the University Hospital Heidelberg in 2008 with now more than 90 employed P&Os and CPOs. His research interests are movement analysis in orthotics and prosthetics, Influence of assistive devices in daily living and Control mechanisms in prosthetics. Merkur Alimusaj is author and co-author of several national and international scientific publications and (co-)author of several book contributions.
Shane Wurdeman, PhD, CP, FAAOP(D)
Chief Clinical Officer, Hanger Clinic and Hanger Institute for Clinical Research and Education, USA
Improving Outcomes for Lower-Functioning Amputees: Findings from a Randomized Trial and Medicare Claims Analysis of MPKs in the K2 Population.
Dr. Wurdeman holds a degree in physics, a Master’s in prosthetics and orthotics, a master’s in health care transformation, and a PhD in biomechanics. He entered the field of O&P as a technician before going to school to become a clinician and eventually moving into roles as principal investigator and his current role of Chief Clinical Officer. He is a fellow with distinction of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists. Dr. Wurdeman is past winner of the Research Award of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists, a 7-time Thranhardt Lecture Award winner, and has published over 70 peer-reviewed clinical studies. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association as the Research Director and the co-chair of The Orthotics & Prosthetics Foundation for Education and Research. He is based in Austin, Texas.
Saffran Möller, PhD, P.T.
Assistant Professor Health and Care Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation, School of Health and Welfare, Sweden
Paying Attention: Cognitive Load and Brain Activity when Walking with a Lower Limb Prosthesis.
Saffran Möller is a licensed physiotherapist with a Phd in science of Health and Welfare within prosthetics and have a master’s degree in physiotherapy. She has been working clinically for many years at a rehab clinic in Sweden, mainly with multidisciplinary rehabilitation after a lower limb amputation. This included a close collaboration with the Prosthetists which gave her a great general knowledge in prosthetic technology and the provision process.
Her interest in prosthetic provision later brought her into the international arena where she got an education in gait training in USA and took part in a great number of prosthetic provisions, mainly Microprocessor-controlled Prosthetic knees. This further deepened her knowledge and experience in rehabilitation and prosthetic provision after a lower limb amputation. For the last 15 years she has worked as a lecturer providing education and seminars for clinical teams working with rehabilitation after a lower limb amputation. Seminars include both available evidence in rehabilitation process, gait training and optimizing the prosthetic provision process. Since she finalist my PhD she is employed as assistant professor at Jönköping University where she divides her time in lecturing, program coordinator for a Master program in Product development in assistive technology and research.
Saffran Möllers’ main area of interest in research is understanding how to integrate and optimize assistive technology to the human body - How to help our patients to take advantage of different prosthetic components and to support professions with evidence-based methods in this optimizing process. This includes several aspects, such as understanding the assistive technology, physics of the human, such as balance, muscle or joint functioning, but also psychological processes such as cognition, self-efficacy and motivational aspects of functioning with a prosthesis. She has a special interest in the cognitive aspects of gait, specifically unconscious motor control and her research has included visualizing brain activity to better understand cognitive processes during gait.
Dr. med. Johannes Schröter
Medical Director and Head of the Orthopedic Department Reha-Zentrum, Wiesbaden Sonnenberg Germany
Results of an Observational Study on Early Rehabilitation after Transfemoral Amputation using MPKs as the First Prosthetic Knee in Patients in Germany.
Johannes Schröter started his career as a Doctor of Medicine at the Westfälische Wihlhelms-University Münster, Germany and is specialized in orthopedics. He has been involved in the respective boards of the German Society of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, the German Association of Technical Orthopedics (board member since 2005), the Association of Leading Orthopedics and Trauma Surgeon and the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. Physicians are particularly scientifically committed in the field of rehabilitation sciences and digital applications.
