Whither prosthetics and orthotics?

1 Chairman, Committee on Prosthetics Research and Development, July 1, 1962-June 30, 1965. Upon completion of his term as Chairman of CPRD, Dr. Aitken will continue to serve as a member of CPRD. The publicity concerning scientific and technical advances keeps us constantly aware of man's increasing competence to master his environment. The technologies available make possible a wide variety of mechanisms that expand man's sphere of activity and make possible comfortable living in environments previously considered undesirable. Some of the modern techniques, when applied in the biological fields, have eliminated some diseases, controlled others, and have made possible medical and surgical procedures that extend the life expectancy of persons of all ages. Continuing research undoubtedly is going to demonstrate eventually the etiological factors in other disease entities and thus permit the development of a nonsymptomatic approach to therapy. Many of the current scientific advances have been the result of interdisciplinary effort, where two or more separate disciplines have worked together, hopefully synergistically. This interdisciplinary effort in prosthetics and orthotics has produced what is often described as a bioengineering effort. In the past twenty years increasing emphasis has been placed on the engineering aspects of this specific problem. These years have witnessed a rapid advance in the development of new industrial materials and hardware that have been readily applicable to artificial limbs and braces. Many improvements in previous fabrication techniques and components were facilitated by using these newly available industrial developments, and thus some advances were made in upgrading the quality of prosthetic and orthotic devices. There have been varying degrees of concurrent fundamental research in the biological aspects of this interdisciplinary approach. It seems at times, though, that the glamour of technology has overshadowed the purely biological problems. Research activities involving these glamour areas have been more attractive to many, and funds for such research have been more available in these sometimes esoteric areas. At times it would seem that many involved in prosthetics and orthotics