The Bergmann Foot Scanner for automated orthotic fabrication

The word automation sometimes can be misleading. I believe that some feel that automation of orthotic manufacturing results in a system in which orthotics are mass produced. Still others believe that the main reason for automation is to make orthotics quicker and cheaper and not individualized. As far as the author's laboratory is concerned, nothing could be further from the truth. We think of automation as the use of computer technology to make orthotics that are more accurate and more specialized as to the doctor's specific requirements. This is a method that takes the expertise of the podiatrist and the laboratory technician and gives them a tool that can be used to achieve the perfection in orthotic fabrication they are trying to attain. In testing out new types of cast correction designs, computer-designed images will give the repeatability needed in scientific research not found with manually applied corrections. The optical scanner has given us more than just a means of sending a cast to the laboratory quickly. It has turned out to be a method to help explain biomechanics of the patient's foot in a clear and concise way. We also have watched it develop into a research tool that podiatry schools and others can use to verify and further biomechanical principles.