Even in the twenty-first century, the term handcrafted means something. Handcrafted means creating a one-of-a-kind item, made to specifications, with all the attention and expertise a skilled professional can bring. Handcrafting is an art as well as a science. The science means it works, the art means it works best for you. We bring both the science and the art to the crafting of prosthetic devices.
We all know how important it is to make a good first impression. Hand plaster casting, as opposed to scanning, simple measurements or fiberglass casting, allows us to achieve the best fit for patients with fewer errors. To get the best fit for a prosthetic device, the socket or frame should fit the limb snugly and comfortably support the body weight of the user. A poorly made and fitted socket can cause pressure, pain and other problems.
At P&O Care, we cast and fit all of our custom devices by hand. This process brings benefits a computer generated prosthetic device just can’t match. Our prosthetist sculpts your prosthesis just as an artist would. A computer can’t do that.
In our hand casting procedure, the prosthetist shapes the socket around the limb as the plaster hardens. The resulting socket matches the exact contours of the limb, creating an accurate impression that will fit optimally with few, if any, adjustments. It also allows the patient to give the practitioner feedback during the casting procedure, resulting in a better fitting prosthesis. We have a nearly 98% success rate with our fittings.
To make the prosthesis, at each P&O Care facility, we have a state-of-the-art fabrication lab with talented and qualified technicians that are truly “architects of abilities.”
Many companies that provide custom prosthetic and orthotic devices have their products fabricated using a method called computer aided casting (also known as CAD CAM) by factories hundreds of miles away from their facility. They scan a limb in a manner of minutes, rather than the painstaking effort we put into creating each of our prosthetic devises. Using this method, they can’t provide anywhere near the attention to detail our direct hands-on interaction hand casting does.
In addition to a better fitting device, we also can provide a faster turn around time. We can have your device fabricated and fitted without anything having to be sent out of town.
If you’re curious about the four basic ways of creating a prosthetic socket and how hand casting compares with computer scanning, here’s a chart with more technical information: link.
To see how this process works, please check out the video here.
Hand casting means faster service, an optimum fit, more personalized customization and better patient satisfaction. Truly handcrafted for you.
