OTWorld 2024: Congress Programme for Professionals in Orthopaedic Treatment and Care is Online / Ticket Shop is Open
Practical, international and interdisciplinary: From 14 to 17 May, the world congress at OTWorld will be setting the scene for global knowledge transfer in the prosthetics and orthotics industry. The highly varied congress programme will offer a wide range of further education opportunities for all professional groups working at the interface between people and technology. New items on this year's programme include the addition of a special series of workshops for medical supply store staff. Furthermore, all workshops will now take place within the framework of the world congress.
Hundreds of millions of people all over the world depend on access to orthopaedic medical aids. In Germany alone, some 25 million people receive orthopaedic treatment and care. "There are many different causes," explains congress president Dr Thomas Wirth, professor and medical director of the Orthopaedic Clinic at the Olgahospital (part of the Klinikum Stuttgart). "Diseases, accidents and war injuries as well as the treatment and prevention of sports injuries all require interdisciplinary care from a team of physicians, orthopaedic (footwear) technicians and physiotherapists. Sharing our knowledge and experience within and among the various occupational groups in our sector is an absolute must so we can supply patient care at the highest possible professional level."
The positioning of the world congress as an interdisciplinary event is strongly supported by its congress presidents, Prof Dr Wirth and Master Orthopaedic Technician Ingo Pfefferkorn (Dipl.-Ing. FH). "The congress programme at OTWorld 2024 offers CPD opportunities tailored to every group of professionals involved in treatment and care from orthopaedic (footwear) technicians, physiotherapists and physicians to medical supply store staff," Pfefferkorn explains. "Recent additions to the world congress programme include a wide range of highly practical workshops looking at everyday professional tasks and providing hands-on experience. Anyone attending the event is guaranteed to return home with brand-new insights that they can put to work for their patients."
Under the leadership of both presidents, members of the Programme and Workshop Committee have worked together over the past few months to develop a comprehensive congress programme for OTWorld 2024. Alongside the German Association of Orthopaedic Technology (BIV-OT), more than 30 professional societies are supporting the congress with their expertise. In four different formats, the world congress will take a look at all the key issues in orthopaedic treatment and care from prosthetics, orthotics, orthopaedic footwear technology, sports orthopaedics and parasports to age-appropriate assistance systems, digitalisation and lymphology. More than 300 contributors from all over the world will provide inspiration for advanced care solutions as they invite visitors to share experiences and information.
The full congress programme is available online on the OTWorld website.
Inspirational Professional Development for Prosthetists and Orthotists
Distinguished experts from over 30 countries will contribute their international perspectives at the world congress to shed light on a range of topics. Prosthetists and orthotists will receive first-hand insights into examples of treatment and care from around the world along with the latest scientific findings.
From the United States, for example, speakers from paediatric hospitals and institutions providing prosthetic and orthopaedic care will be reporting their findings in the care of children and young adults with spina bifida. This will include presentations of innovative clinical care approaches and insights into specific patient pathologies.
As part of a symposium entitled „Provision of Medical Aids in the Crisis Area – What Are the Challenges?", Ukrainian speakers will be discussing the difficulties of delivering care in war zones. The challenge of providing orthopaedic treatment and care in conflict regions and war zones, as is currently the case in Ukraine, is enormous in terms of supplying both the resources and the training and knowledge needed. Topics presented here will include prosthesis adaptations and solutions from the Superhumans Team in Ukraine, the delivery of rehabilitation services in war zones, and the strategies of the UNBROKEN Team for covering the need for physical rehabilitation and orthopaedic medical aids in Ukraine.
An international panel of experts will be offering insights into the latest advances in amputation at a symposium entitled "Innovations in Amputation – Surgery, OT and Rehabilitation". The symposium will examine innovative TMR, TSR and osseointegration techniques not only from a surgical perspective but also in terms of prosthetics and orthotics. In addition, participants will be given insights into opportunities and experiences in the use of augmented, virtual and mixed-reality technologies in rehabilitation.
Specialised Further Education for Orthopaedic Footwear Technicians
In multiple sessions, orthopaedic footwear technicians can take part in professional development specially tailored to their day-to-day work. These contributions are made possible in part by collaboration with the Society for Foot and Ankle Surgery e.V. (GFFC), the German Association for Feet and Ankles e.V. (DAF), the Society for Orthopaedic Footwear Technology (Studiengemeinschaft OST e.V.) and the Orthopaedic Footwear Technology Competence Center (KomZet OST).
At the symposium led by Dr Hartmut Sinus entitled "Orthopaedic and Footwear Technologies for Severe Foot Deformities in Children and Adolescents", for example, orthopaedic footwear technicians can expect to take away valuable ideas for the treatment and care of affected patients. In addition to functional limitations and disabilities caused by foot deformities, the focus of the session will be on patient acceptance and speedy production of the necessary medical aids.
Participants will also receive an update on digitalisation and IT solutions in analysis and production in a symposium of the same name. The emphasis here will be on how digitalisation can help offset the labour shortage in the health professions and optimise complex processes. Furthermore, promising approaches to future production applications will be presented.
Practical Further Education for Medical Supply Store Staff
For the first time, the world congress features a tailor-made CPD programme for medical supply store staff. This exclusive series is organised under the professional guidance of the German Association of Orthopaedic Technology and consists of seven different workshops covering the full spectrum of treatment and care offered by medical supply stores.
There is a particular focus on treatment and care for disorders of the lymphatic system. In collaboration with the German Society for Phlebology and Lymphology (DGPL), two workshops will be offered each day covering standards-based treatment and care within a team of physicians and therapists. Live treatments will be performed on patients at the workshops, allowing participants to gain experience in different care options and compare the various methods. In a room designed especially for this series of workshops, an array of medical aids will be available in a mock medical supply store for use in demonstrating care practices on patients.
The programme will be rounded off with three additional workshops. "Breast Prostheses: Balancing Cancer Diagnosis, Cost Pressures and the Psychological Stress for Everyone Involved", "How Do I Recognise the Limitations of Treatment with Prefabricated Orthoses and When Do I Need a Customised Medical Aid?" and "Afflicted by Stroke – an Introduction to the Pathology, Early Physiotherapeutic Intervention and Orthopaedic Treatment and Care Afterwards".
Groundbreaking Keynote Addresses
Keynote lectures by prestigious professionals are among the traditional highlights of the world congress. At OTWorld 2024, the international dialogue will be led by AI and robotics expert Prof Claudio Castellini, happiness specialist Prof Ricarda Rehwaldt and Prof Thomas Brück, who will discuss the use of sustainable materials in prosthetics and orthotics. The fourth keynote speaker will be announced soon.
This year, a particular focus of the world's largest congress for prosthetics and orthotics will be on paediatric, adolescent and neuro-orthopaedics. This is a topic close to the hearts of the two congress presidents, Prof Dr Thomas Wirth and Ingo Pfefferkorn (Dipl.-Ing.).
Early-Bird Discount for OTWorld Tickets
Tickets for OTWorld 2024 are available now in the online shop . The discounted early-bird price for full and day tickets for the world congress, including admission to the international trade show, will be valid until 31 March 2024.
