AOPA 2021 National Assembly: TLI Joins Mayo Clinic to Present Their Collaborative Efforts on Limb Loss and Preservation Registry

The Thought Leadership & Innovation Foundation joined the Mayo Clinic at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association’s (AOPA) 2021 National Assembly to present information about the Limb Loss and Preservation Registry (Registry) and demonstrate to researchers, clinicians, hospitals, payers and patients the power of healthcare data analysis and business intelligence. 

The Mayo Clinic has undertaken a five-year program to develop, establish and populate the Registry as part of a competitive contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense. The goal is to collect data so that this growing field of research and treatment can be based on reliable evidence.

Registry Significance

It is estimated that more than 2 million people in the United States have lost a limb, either through trauma, disease or other medical conditions. That number grows by an estimate of 185,000 each year. While many are combat veterans, just over half are amputees who have lost a limb due to vascular disease.

The Registry addresses a substantial public health knowledge gap, with information housed in this database that will be vital to preventing limb loss, improving amputation surgeries, refining rehabilitation approaches and guiding the development of devices for people with limb loss.

The Registry will be made available to researchers studying medical conditions that contribute to limb loss, such as diabetes and vascular disease. In addition, the research community will be able to analyze the data by age, gender and type of limb loss or preservation surgery to support decision making for long-term care of these patients that will enhance their functionality and quality of life.

TLI’s Contribution

TLI’s scientific experts have worked for many years with civilian and military experts in limb loss and limb preservation to standardize, measure and report patient outcomes data, support evidence-based decision making, enhance healthcare delivery, and establish and disseminate best practices to further reintegrate strategies following neuro-musculoskeletal injury. 

TLI serves the Mayo Clinic and NIH in developing the Registry to analyze data to advance better patient outcomes for over 2 million Americans, whose lives have been forever changed by losing a limb. Whether the cause was childhood cancer, diabetes, accidents or combat, TLI passionately believes each and every person who has lost a limb deserves the best outcome possible. We work to help each person receive the best available rehabilitation, prostheses and re-integration into daily activities.

We were thrilled to participate at the AOPA event. This national trade association is committed to providing high quality, unprecedented business services and products to orthotic and prosthetic professionals, works to raise awareness of the profession and impacts policies that affect the future of this industry. 

For more information or to become a partner or donor, contact the foundation.