Abstract
BackgroundFour factors have been reported to affect brace treatment outcome: (1) growth or curve based risk, (2) the in-brace correction, (3) the brace wear quantity, and (4) the brace wear quality. The quality of brace design affects the in-brace correction and comfort which indirectly affects the brace wear quantity and quality. This paper reported the immediate benefits and results on using ultrasound (US) to aid orthotists to design braces for the treatment of scoliosis.MethodsThirty-four AIS subjects participated in this study with 17 (2 males, 15 females) in the control group and 17 (2 males, 15 females) in the intervention (US) group. All participants were prescribed full time TLSO, constructed by either of the 2 orthotists in fabrication of spinal braces. For the control group, the Providence brace design system was adopted to design full time braces. For the intervention group, the custom standing Providence brace design system, plus a medical ultrasound system, a custom pressure measurement system and an in-house software were used to assist brace casting.ResultsIn the control group, 8 of 17 (47%) subjects needed a total of 11 brace adjustments after initial fabrication requiring a total of 28 in-brace radiographs. Three subjects (18%) required a second adjustment. For the US group, only 1 subject (6%) required adjustment. The total number of in-brace radiographs was 18. The p value of the chi-square for requiring brace adjustment was 0.006 which was a statistically significant difference between the two groups. In the intervention group, the immediate in-brace correction as measured from radiographs was 48 ± 17%, and in the control group the first and second in-brace correction was 33 ± 19% and 40 ± 20%, respectively. The unpaired 2 sided Student’s t test of the in-brace correction was significantly different between the US and the first follow-up of the control group (p = 0.02), but was not significant after the second brace adjustment (p = 0.22).ConclusionsThe use of the 3D ultrasound system provided a radiation-free method to determine the optimum pressure level and location to assist brace design, resulting in decreased radiation exposure during follow-up brace evaluation, increased the in-brace correction, reduced the patients’ visits to both brace adjustment and scoliosis clinics. However, the final outcomes could not be reported yet as some of patients are still under brace treatment.Trial registrationNCT02996643, retrospectively registered in 16 December 2016
Highlights
Four factors have been reported to affect brace treatment outcome: (1) growth or curve based risk, (2) the in-brace correction, (3) the brace wear quantity, and (4) the brace wear quality
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine associated with vertebral rotation due to an unknown cause
Bracing is typically prescribed either based on guidelines set by the Scoliosis Research Society [9] or by the Society on Scoliosis Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Treatment (SOSORT) [10], in which the Cobb angle is greater than 20° with considerable growth remaining or show at least 5o of Cobb angle increase between consecutive clinic visits
Summary
Four factors have been reported to affect brace treatment outcome: (1) growth or curve based risk, (2) the in-brace correction, (3) the brace wear quantity, and (4) the brace wear quality. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional deformity of the spine associated with vertebral rotation due to an unknown cause It is a chronic and a potentially progressive spinal deformity affecting 2–3% of the population [1]. When a subject wears a brace 100% of prescribed time (23 h/day), but only 43% of time at the prescribed level, the subject may get a similar result Besides these two factors, the (a) growth or curve based risk and (b) the in-brace correction [16, 17] affect brace treatment outcomes. The in-brace correction may be affected by the brace design and spinal flexibility
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