Microprocessor Knee Assistance Requested

Microprocessor Knee Assistance Requested

Zach Dwyer

7/23/2005

I am a student doing some research on microprocessor knees and it was
recommended to me by a certified practitioner to contact this list serve.
I have not used this address before so I hope this question is
appropriate for this forum.

So far I have been able to collect information and material on the Otto
Bock Compact Knee, the C-Leg, the Rheo Knee, the Adaptive and the
Intelligent Knee and all the manufactures have been very helpful.

There is one knee however that has been difficult to acquire information
on and I was hoping that I could get some assistance from this list
serve.

The knee in question is the DAW SLK (Self Learning Knee). DAW has many
advertisements about this microprocessor knee, however I have obtained
information from the AOPA coding committee and other sources that state
that it is not a microprocessor. When I contact DAW to obtain clinical
information, they have provided me advertising brochures and magazine
ads which lack clinical or scientific data. They also sent me an article
from a trade magazine, but to be honest, it was simply an interview of a
DAW sales representative and there were no references or sources to
verify the statements made regarding this knee.

I have actually spoken with two practitioners that have fit the SLK knee
and they report that the knee is a swing phase control knee only. They
reported that the patients cannot walk down ramps or stairs and there is
no stumble recovery feature and therefore they returned the knees. When I
discussed this with DAW, the representative explained that the
practitioners did notadjuste the knee correctly and that is why the SLK
did not work correctly for them.

The DAW representative also said they have sold hundreds of the SLK knee,
but when I ask for the name of a practitioner that has fit one
successfully so I can interview them to learn about the knee, DAW says
they cannot release this information due to confidentiality.

I have seen many ads for this knee and am very interested to learn more
about it and speak with someone that has had success with this knee so I
am hoping that someone on this list serve has fit one of these knees
would be willing to send me an e-mail with their opinions on this knee
and explain how it works and what thier clients thought about it.

I hope I do not sound too much like a lost student, but I am really
interested in knowing more about this knee. I appreciate any information
that you can provide to assist me so I can learn more about this
technology.

Thank you.

Zack Dwyer

Student

Newport Beach, CA

<Email Address Redacted>

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