From 24 to 27 April, the 19th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) in Mexico was the focal point for medical technology experts. As a Diamond sponsor, Ottobock has driven interdisciplinary exchange with an extensive specialist programme. A special highlight was the presentation of the Forchheimer Prize on 25 April. The award-winning project presented by the international research team was supervised by Dr Susanne Seidinger, Director Global Market Access Management at Ottobock in Vienna.

Ottobock attracted a broad audience to the trade fair booth in the German pavilion on the opening day with product innovations, custom fitting solutions and workshop demonstrations. “Our new Quickchange adapter, which we presented to an international audience for the first time here, aroused special interest,” says Ottobock CEO & CSO Oliver Jakobi. Together with Georgia Näder, Vice President of Futuring Mediterranee & Business Transition, he welcomed ISPO President Claude Tardif and Klaus Ernst, area manager of the Leipziger Messe trade show, to the Ottobock stand.

Interdisciplinary research project honored

The jury honoured the publication on the cost-effectiveness of fitting patients over the age of 65 with the Kenevo microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee joint in Sweden with the Forchheimer Prize and prize money in the amount of 75.000 Swedish kroner.

It is the result of a health economic analysis suggested by Dr. Susanne Seidinger. Together with the co-authors Prof. Alexander Kuhlmann (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg), Prof. Kerstin Hagberg (University Hospital Gothenburg), Dr. Ilka Kamrad (University Hospital Malmö), Prof. Hans Berg (University Hospital Karolinska) and Prof. Nerrolyn Ramstrand (University of Jönköping) she has carried out the research project.

“For me, this publication remains a prime example of efficient collaboration with my Swedish colleagues and the development of a highly professional interdisciplinary team,” said Dr Andreas Hahn, Corporate Vice President Clinical Research and Services at Ottobock, in praise of the result.

These and many other evidence-based research projects were the focus of Ottobock's varied congress programme. In addition to Dr Andreas Hahn, speakers Dr Andreas Kannenberg, Executive Medical Director Clinical Research, and Prof Dr Malte Bellmann, Head of Biomechanical Research, were delighted at the great interest in their technical contributions.

Expanding the network in Latin America

“After the coronavirus pause, we were finally able to network personally in the medical technology industry again at the ISPO Congress,” says Oliver Jakobi. “This enabled us to sustainably strengthen our international research and treatment network for people with disabilities and further expand our market position in Latin America.”

Ottobock will once again appear as a Diamond Sponsor at the ISPO Congress in Stockholm in 2025.