3 ms·

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics "whiz" Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti developed this astoundingly cheap fix for clubfoot in the 1950s: http://en.wikipedia.org/

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics "whiz" Dr. Ignacio V. Ponseti developed this astoundingly cheap fix for clubfoot in the 1950s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponseti_Method http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponseti_Method Of course, these guys are doing good work and don't claim to have cured clubfoot. But the Wired coverage is, unsurprisingly, sensationalized and misleading.

delinka 13y ago
Do you mean "this same fix" or do you mean "this other cheap fix"? Because they read to me as similar techniques but with drastically different tools, and the older treatment uses more labor and material (thus one would expect it to me more expensive.)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
minimax 13y ago
The brace is part of treatment using the Ponseti Method. They talk about it in the video at about the 1 minute mark. It looks like what these guys have done is created an injection molded version of the Denis Browne Bar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Browne_bar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Browne_bar
mkolodny 13y ago
> Adding insult to injury, these thoroughly low-tech braces cost more than iPads, generally coming with a $300-700 price tag. I think "astoundingly cheap" is the important part here. While the title might lead you to believe that these students came up with the idea for using a brace to fix clubfoot, the article itself doesn't give that impression. These students came up with a low cost implementation of the Denis Browne bar. This means that the Ponsetti method will be available to the masses. Since the brace they developed is more comfortable than other braces, and more like a toy, it will also lead to more effective treatment of clubfoot through better compliance.
- wmeredith 13y ago
  It said elsewhere in the article that many braces were not well made with a doctor bending a metal bar over a chair as he gave the diagnosis. Does not compute.

delinka 13y ago

Do you mean "this same fix" or do you mean "this other cheap fix"? Because they read to me as similar techniques but with drastically different tools, and the older treatment uses more labor and material (thus one would expect it to me more expensive.)

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

minimax 13y ago

The brace is part of treatment using the Ponseti Method. They talk about it in the video at about the 1 minute mark. It looks like what these guys have done is created an injection molded version of the Denis Browne Bar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Browne_bar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Browne_bar

mkolodny 13y ago

> Adding insult to injury, these thoroughly low-tech braces cost more than iPads, generally coming with a $300-700 price tag. I think "astoundingly cheap" is the important part here. While the title might lead you to believe that these students came up with the idea for using a brace to fix clubfoot, the article itself doesn't give that impression. These students came up with a low cost implementation of the Denis Browne bar. This means that the Ponsetti method will be available to the masses. Since the brace they developed is more comfortable than other braces, and more like a toy, it will also lead to more effective treatment of clubfoot through better compliance.

wmeredith 13y ago
It said elsewhere in the article that many braces were not well made with a doctor bending a metal bar over a chair as he gave the diagnosis. Does not compute.