The Alexandria, VA-based American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) on May 23 announced the contenders for its 2016 Thranhardt Award. They are Beatrice Janka, MPO, CPO; Gordon Stevens, CPO, LPO; Kenton Kaufman, PhD, PE; and Lauren White, PT, DPT, PCS. The nominees will present their research at the 2016 AOPA National Assembly in September in Boston.
Janka, a clinical prosthetist-orthotist in Becker Orthopedic’s Patient Care Division and a product development engineer for Becker’s R&D team in Detroit, will present “The Effects of AFO Stiffness and Alignment on Lower Extremity Kinematics in Stroke and Multiple Sclerosis.”
Stevens, president of Baker O&P in Dallas and a previous Thranhardt winner, will present “Increasing Functional Independence through Prosthetic Rehabilitation.”
Kaufman, the W. Hall Wendel Jr. Musculoskeletal Research Professor, biomedical engineering professor and director of the Biomechanics- Motion Analysis Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, will present “Functional Assessment and Satisfaction in K2 Transfemoral Amputees Receiving MPK Knees–Initial Findings.”
White, a physical therapist with at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s International Center for Spinal Cord Injury (ICSCI) who manages the Interdisciplinary Orthotic Clinic in Baltimore, will present “Development and Implementation of a Clinical Decision Making Algorithm for Aiding Orthotic Prescription for Patients with Neurological Impairments.”
The Thranhardt award was launched by a gift from J.E. Hanger in memory of Howard R. Thranhardt, CP, in 1996.
