Professor of Health Services, Policy, and Practice Linda Resnik will lead a three-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Defense that will examine the effectiveness of various prostheses.
The three-year U.S. Department of Defense contract was awarded Monday, September 30 to Ocean State Research Institute Inc., a nonprofit associated with the Providence VA. Brown, along with several other medical research institutions, is a collaborator on the study.
Dr. Linda J. Resnik, the study’s lead investigator, will work with researchers across the country as they examine the effectiveness of various prostheses.
“ This will be the largest, most comprehensive study comparing upper limb prostheses and components. ”
“Providing prostheses that are optimally matched to the patient will improve satisfaction, reduce abandonment rates and improve overall quality of life for people with upper-limb amputations,” Resnik said in a statement.
Researchers involved in the study will help guide prosthesis prescription by comparing the effectiveness of upper limb prostheses and analyzing whether specific types of patients are more likely to benefit from certain types of devices.
The work builds on an existing study, and is expected to allow for comparisons between 300 upper limb prosthesis users.
Study collaborators include Providence VA Medical Center's VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, the University of South Florida, the Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center in Texas, the James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa, the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Virginia and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle.