PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Solving Pediatric Problems Biomedical engineer focuses studies on pediatric O&P patients
O&P Almanac introduces individuals who have undertaken O&P-focused research projects. Here, you will get to know colleagues and healthcare professionals who have carried out studies and gathered quantitative and/ or qualitative data related to orthotics and prosthetics, and find out what it takes to become an O&P researcher.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 | O&P ALMANAC
ARK GEIL, PhD, RECENTLY
concluded a long line of research in collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) on prosthetic prescription protocols for children with limb loss requiring a knee component. The project started in the late 1990s when Geil, who is currently professor and interim associate dean for research
and operations at Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University (KSU), first learned that CHOA was achieving positive results when providing children with a working prosthetic knee much earlier than standardly advised. “Since then, we’ve collected 3D-instrumented motion analysis on children walking with and without locked knees, on younger children crawling with and without a knee, and most recently in a multisite study on children in what we call the ‘early knee’ protocol compared to children in the traditional prescription protocol,” says Geil. The results have consistently shown that children who receive a knee earlier develop more normal gait patterns at an earlier age and also are afforded opportunities to meet other developmental milestones at more normative ages. “We’re seeing this research start to find its way into medical textbooks, and we believe it’s actually changing the accepted protocols at multiple facilities,” Geil says. “It’s a distinct pleasure to see the research we conduct in our labs not only make it into the world in scientific publications, but also have a direct and meaningful impact on the development of children around the country.”
PHOTO: Mark Geil, PhD
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