The coronavirus crisis has further accelerated the digital transformation of the orthopaedic technology industry – and treating patients with digital tools and processes is becoming more important than ever before.

The industry’s leading trade show will also be held online for the first time this year as OTWorld.connect. Ottobock and other representatives from over 20 countries will be presenting their products and services during the virtual world congress from 27 to 29 October.

“Ottobock is human. Ottobock is digital. As a technology and innovation leader, we are driving the digital transformation in the O&P industry with the aim of restoring quality of life for people around the world. Digital fitting solutions, digital communication formats and digital connections with our customers are already the new standard here,” says Professor Hans Georg Näder, owner and Chairman of the Board of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA. “And our company doesn’t see any contradictions in digitalisation, humanity and sustainability. In fact, the opposite is true – digital tools and processes are creating new opportunities to place a more intensive, individual focus on our patients. At the same time, they are also helping us cut back on materials and work in a more sustainable way.”

Together with representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health, the German Association of Orthopaedic Technology, ISPO and the WHO, Professor Näder will be participating in a panel discussion on Thursday, 29 October from 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm, where he will be speaking on the topic “Medical technology – coronavirus and its impacts from an international perspective”.

Topic areas at OTWorld.connect

Ottobock will be presenting its innovations in an online special under the slogan “Discover. Experience. Connect.” O&P professionals and others who are interested can check out the innovations at ottobock.com/otworld2020 starting on 27 October. “The focus is creative videos featuring expert discussions, tips for the workshop and guidance – all recorded in our new digital studio,“ explains Jenny Fleischer, Chief Marketing Officer. “Plus, our customers will have the chance to share ideas and experiences with our experts in three live Q&A sessions.”

The online special will highlight three topic areas:

Digital treatment made simple with iFab EasyScan

Ottobock supports orthopaedic businesses of any size as they make the transition to a digital workshop – with the innovative iFab fitting solutions. iFab stands for individual fabrication and cutting-edge services in orthopaedic technology. A team of specialists is there to support O&P professionals with the production of custom orthoses, prostheses and seating shells that are ready in no time and tailored to the requirements – based on a treatment process using digital tools. Ottobock is now presenting the new iFab EasyScan solution. It consists of a scanner and new scanning/modelling software. iFab EasyScan digitalises treatment steps including taking measurements, modelling the product, ordering and production. iFab fabricates and delivers the custom product.

Mobile biomechanical gait analysis with Bionic Pro

The Bionic Pro mobile gait analysis system is another digital innovation from Ottobock. Understanding the patient’s movements and gait is particularly important when it comes to complex treatment and fittings (after a stroke, or for Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, for example). Patients’ mobility can then be improved with innovative products. Bionic Pro allows the gait quality to be evaluated based on biomechanical parameters – thanks to seven sensors, a base station and a tablet. The intelligent system visualises the results and creates an objective, data-based patient report.

Online prosthesis checks with Cockpit Connect

Thanks to the new Cockpit Connect web portal from Ottobock, O&P professionals can connect online with users who wear the C-Leg, Genium or Genium X3. The portal offers insights into status data from mechatronic knee joints and how they are used – in real time. Thanks to this digital solution, O&P professionals can support their patients remotely as well.

Interested individuals could note the dates for the live Q&A sessions via the online special and tune in for Ottobock’s presentations at the congress. All content on the innovations, including videos, will be available starting 27 October.

• Digital treatment – the value that digital technologies and “teleprosthetics” can offer – for O&P professionals and patients.

• Solutions for orthopaedic businesses – the benefits that workshops can gain from innovative solutions (such as new materials and hygiene products).

• Patients first – how innovative products and treatment approaches can support users (for example, Myo Plus prosthesis control and the “Mobile after an amputation” network).