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GPS Academy/Arcometer - Spine Path
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Arcometer - Spine Path

  • Course
  • 6 Lessons

The D'Osualdo arcometer is a manual device used to measure spine curvatures on the sagittal plane, namely kyphosis and lordosis.
View course

6

Number of lessons included

8 min

Total duration of the course

First

Course level

What will you learn?

The arcometer measures a chord and a rise which help calculating:
  • the Cobb angle;
  • the curvature radius.
The Cobb angle identified during the clinical evaluation strictly correlates with the Cobb angle measured on radiographs. The curvature radius, on the other hand, can be of help especially when doing research.

When measuring kyphosis or lordosis, the arcometer bars must be positioned at the superior and inferior apex of the curve. Their distance identifies the chord. The central bar, then, must be fixed to the midpoint of the chord with its lower extremity gently placed over the back. The value read on the ruled central bar is the rise.
The Cobb angle and the curvature radius can be calculated using the two-entry table provided together with the arcometer.

Description

The arcometer can be used to complete the clinical exam, as a screening test to refer the patient to a specialist or as part of the follow-up programme in patients affected by hyperkyphosis or flatback (although it does not replace radiographs it helps to reduce their number).

The arcometer is also used to evaluate patients standing in their spontaneous and in their self-corrected posture since the comparison of the two measurements helps monitoring the disease progression and understanding the benefit gained from physiotherapy or from a spine orthose.
The arcometer is made up of a ruled bar bearing three perpendicular arms. The first bar is fixed at one end, the arm in the middle can move on two axis while the last one can move on just one axis.

The leading principle is that just a single circumference passing through three identified points can be drawn.

Lecturer

Dr.

Flavio D'Osualdo

Neurologist and Doctor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Past-Director of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit of the Rehab Hospital IMFR “Gervasutta”, Udine – Italy

Project Manager and written work

Dr.

Arianna Michelutti

Doctor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, La Nostra Famiglia, I.R.C.C.S. E. Medea, Pasian di Prato e S.Vito

Assistant Project Manager

Who can be interested in this course?

The Spine-Path procedure has been developed to help clinicians dealing with adolescents affected by idiopathic scoliosis during their evaluation and clinical decision-making process.

The Spine-Path procedure has been specifically developed for children and adolescents aged 9-15 with suspected scoliosis.

Although idiopathic scoliosis is the most common type of spine deformity, its diagnosis is still made by exclusion. The first medical examination of an adolescent with suspected scoliosis consists of a detailed personal and family medical history, a physical examination to exclude associated symptoms or other underlying conditions, the spine alignment and mobility evaluation on all planes, the collection of any auxological information at disposal.

Contents

Arcometer

Lesson 1 - Initial presentation
  • 1 min
  • 16.8 MB
Lesson 2 - Theoretical foundations
  • 2 mins
  • 29.3 MB
Lesson 3 - Recommendations for use
  • 2 mins
  • 26.7 MB
Lesson 4 - Calculation of surface Cobb angle
  • 1 min
  • 19.7 MB
Lesson 5 - Use in different conditions
  • 1 min
  • 21.8 MB
Lesson 6 - Measuring the effectiveness of the spinal brace
  • 1 min
  • 19.2 MB

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Testimonials

The course seems to me an excellent initiative and I see the format well. The slides supporting the concepts expressed and the muscles mentioned are truly important.

Massimiliano Scerra (Dominican Republic)

Good idea. It is very useful.

Dr. Bogdan Ambrožič (Slovenia)

GPS Academy®

"More Information, Better Rehabilitation" in cooperation with Chinesport Spa – Italy
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