We always love getting involved in the community, but particularly so in April, just in time for Limb Loss/Limb Difference Awareness Month. This is a time when we raise awareness for people who live with limb loss/limb difference. It is also a great time to spread awareness of the growing industry of prosthetics and orthotics.

Rebecca “Becca” Frost, CPO, from Dankmeyer’s Western Maryland Office, had the pleasure of going to Mountain Ridge High School in Frostburg, MD to speak to the students in the Biomedical Science program. These students are in their Junior year and are taking a class called Medical Interventions, which is an elective course for students who may be interested in the medical field or engineering.

These students were tasked with a design challenge to create a prosthetic arm for a teenager with osteosarcoma (cancer), who had to have their arm amputated. The students teamed up in pairs or groups of three to create a prosthetic arm that is capable of picking up a cup - using a wide range of fabrication materials, including wood, cardboard, plastic, strings, cables, and 3D printers.  The students were able to show off their completed projects so Becca could see all their hard work and ingenuity!

Becca was able to bring in the ‘real deal’ demonstration prosthetic arms, made by professionals in Dankmeyer’s fabrication lab! The students were able to see and feel many different types of artificial arms and legs, as well as ankle braces and 3D printed objects. Many of our teaching demonstration devices allow the student to put on the devices themselves, so they can feel firsthand what it is like to use a body powered hook, walk with two prosthetic feet, or walk with an Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO). You can see from the students’ smiling faces and inquisitive looks that everyone was having a great time!

Becca was also able to teach these students about what it is like to be a Certified Prosthetist Orthotist (CPO), and the education it took for her to get there! For anyone interested in becoming a CPO, you must have a bachelor’s degree and complete all the pre-requisite courses before you can apply to one of the few schools in the country (currently 13) that offer a master’s degree program in prosthetic and orthotics. These graduate programs require 18-24 months of education in the classroom, which prepares you for residency. Then residency requires an additional 18-24 months of on-the-job training! Once you complete both the master’s degree and residency programs, you become Board Eligible and have to sit for a total of six exams (four standardized exams on the computer and two practical hands-on exams) before becoming a fully Certified Prosthetist Orthotist.

Becca likes to say that prosthetics and orthotics is “the best combination of patient care, working with your hands, and making a difference every day!” And of course, we agree!

Check out this gallery of pictures from the class project Becca worked with.