A prosthetist is a person who measures, designs, fabricates, fits and services a prothesis after a prescription from a physician – usually a doctor in rehabilitation. A prosthesis is a piece of equipment which replaces a arm or a leg lost to amputation.
Prosthetists will be certified to fit these prostheses to either the upper or lower extremities. In the United States this individual will have passed validated certification standards which meet the criteria of The American Board for Certification in Orthotics Prosthetics and Pedorthics. These individuals must maintain their certification through mandatory continuing education programs and by passing certain tests.
A prosthetists will specialize in designing and making artificial limb while in orthotists will design and fit orthopedic braces such as surgical supports or corrective shoes. An individual can be both in orthotists and prosthetists even though they deal with different abnormalities and designs and functions.
These specialized professionals will use high-tech tools like computers to design special devices and other more traditional tools such as hammers, trolls and rotary saws to manufacture them. Both will be involved in making plaster casts to determine the size and type of device needed and after the device is completed they will be fitted to the individual patient where adjustments are made to maximize the comfort and appearance of the design.
The prosthetists will be certified to fit a prostheses to the stump of either an upper limb or lower limb. For example, they will be manufacturing of socket that fits the residual as the first step. This is usually manufactured by Glasser carbon fiber infused with acrylic resin. This final socket for the prosthesis is connected to a foot or ankle assembly which is manufactured in a different process. The prosthetists will make the decision, with the patient, as to which type of the knee, ankle or foot the joints will be added to the socket.
The prosthetists will then work with connecting components to assemble everything together and help align these components with the client. It is be responsibility of the prosthetists to align the prosthesis with the clients in order to obtain the most optimized movement and stability.
The prosthetists will also work with the individual patient on how to use the device correctly and how to maintain it properly. Most of the time prosthetists will work with several different technicians finished just in in order to be able to work on several different prostheses at the same time. For the most part these individuals own their own private office and work independently. To a lesser degree they work in larger facilities. Some are hired at rehabilitation centers in laboratories where they have their own workshops in order to manufacture their products.
The median salary for a typical prosthetists in the United States is $64,000 a year. This basic market price was found using certified compensation professionals analysis of survey data collected from thousands of HR departments at employers of all sizes and industries and geographies and reported by CNN Money.com.