Prosthetics & Orthotics practitioners and researchers gather at P&O Forum

With aims to review the developments of prosthetics and orthotics in Hong Kong and the vicinity from different stakeholders (education, service & research), and to nurture more collaboration opportunities with different stakeholders, the Prosthetics & Orthotics Forum was organised by PolyU BME on 18 August 2023 on PolyU campus, and was attended by over 50 P&O practitioners, researchers and research students.

Convened by Ir Professor Ming Zhang, Head of Department and Chair Professor of Biomechanics of BME, and Professor M. S. Wong, Professor of BME and President of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics Hong Kong, the Forum began by having Prof. Zhang giving an overview of BME and introduction P&O developments in the Department to the participants.

Ms Margaret Ho, P&O COC Coordinator of the Hospital Authority (HA), talked about the P&O developments in the public sector, and how it shifted the focus from survival to functional, then to the quality of life. She also introduced the clustering of P&O service in HA, and the advanced service developments in P&O and the advanced biomedical technology.

Mr Mario Chan, Chief P&O of the Allied Health Rehabilitation Centre, was not able to join the Forum in person, but presented the P&O developments in the private sector through a vivid video. He shared how he started his career in the Mainland China in 2004 and the challenges he faced. He then moved back to Hong Kong in 2012 and applied his experience and skills to provide efficient services to patients in the private sector, who highly value quality, performance and effectiveness.

Mr Wilson Chan, President of the Hong Kong Society of Certified Prosthetist-Orthotists (HKSCPO), talked about the P&O developments in the local professional society. He first introduced the Society, such as the certification requirement, membership growth, professional and academic trainings, CPD schemes, etc. Mr Chan also talked about the development trend in different aspects, including image/data capture, components, scope, manufacturing and materials. He also displayed the current applications of 3D printing in P&O which was regarded as a new trend.

At last, Prof. M. S. Wong introduced the P&O developments in the international professional society. The vision, mission and recent activities of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics were introduced. The recent conferences held in Asia via online meetings and the coming physical meetings were also mentioned and promoted. Some trends of P&O developments have been introduced such as application of big data analytics and artificial intelligence to P&O research and services. Close collaborations among different stakeholders have been highly recommended.

After the presentations from the speakers, the participants were then engaged in an open discussion regarding the P&O practices in the public and private sectors and how different practices are in different countries and regions. The Forum was concluded with a dinner joined by the speakers and participants.