Insignia™ 

Insignia is an innovation in patient care and can dramatically advance the quality of the patient’s treatment experience.

An alternative to traditional casting methods, Insignia employs a three-dimensional motion-tracking laser scanner and proprietary Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software to provide patients with a faster, cleaner and less invasive casting process.

Suitable for a variety of prosthetic and orthotic applications, Insignia was developed exclusively for Hanger and is only available from Hanger practitioners.

Comfort

Insignia provides a marked improvement in patient comfort. Patients no longer have to endure the mess and discomfort associated with traditional plaster casting. Even more significant for patients following surgery, the Insignia scan requires very little physical contact and can be performed on patients while in bed.

A unique symmetry feature of the Insignia software eliminates the pain and possible trauma often associated with manipulating post-surgical patients – especially spinal and amputee patients. Using Insignia, patients can be fit for a spinal jacket, orthosis or temporary prosthesis while lying in bed, without rolling over or moving. The Hanger practitioner scans on hemisphere of the body and the symmetry functionality built into the Insignia software creates the image of the opposite side to form a complete image with accuracy within one millimeter. The practitioner has full control over the creation of the symmetrical panel before it is sent to Hanger’s Central Design Center (CDC) for design and creation of the orthotic device or prosthetic socket.

By eliminating the use of plaster casts, the fitting of devices for children, who can be afraid of the casting and the casting removal procedures, is less stressful for both the child and the parents. For example, the cranial casting procedure, used in the creation of cranial helmets, has long been an uncomfortable, scary and irritating experience for both the infants and parents. The Insignia scan is non-invasive and the infant can be scanned while sitting in the safety and security of a parent’s lap or being held in their parent’s arms.

Convenience

The components of Insignia used to capture the patient’s image—the laser wand, computer, and motion-tracking device—all fit into a compact, portable case that is smaller than a piece of carry-on luggage. As such, patients who cannot visit a Hanger patient care center can be scanned at the hospital, at home, in a nursing home or rehabilitation facility.

Time Savings

Insignia allows Hanger practitioners to spend more quality time with their patients by eliminating the need for time-consuming and messy plaster casting in the fabrication of custom prosthetic and orthotic devices. Using a lightweight, hand-held laser scanner, Hanger practitioners can, almost instantly, capture the full-three dimensional image of the area of the body to be fit.

Accuracy

Insignia’s cutting-edge technology, combined with Hanger’s highly skilled staff, ensures consistently accurate, well-fitting devices.

Unlike any other laser scanner on the market today, Insignia employs two embedded motion-tracking devices to allow for patient movement during the scanning procedure. The device determines the position and orientation of the scanner’s wand relative to the body part being scanned, casts a laser light over the body part, records a cross-sectional profile and enables the computer to accurately reconstruct the full three-dimensional surface.

The scans are accurate within one millimeter, and the three-dimensional feature gives detailed surface information often lost with a cast or mechanical digitizers.

Permanent Patient Record

Insignia’s proprietary CAD software creates a permanent patient record that allows for rapid refitting and adjustments, the medical justification of medical necessity, for a new device, and the sharing of patient information with the referring physician, allied health professional, managed care organization, and/or insurance company.

Insignia was created to design an array of prosthetic and orthotic devices including:

• Postoperative, preparatory, temporary and permanent prostheses for foot, above-knee, and below-knee amputees
• Functional and passive prostheses for hand, below-elbow and above elbow amputees
• All types of custom-made orthotics such as spinal jackets and cranial helmets

What to expect

First the practitioner places a small receiver on the patient. This receiver works with the motion-tracking device embedded into the Insignia scanner to determine the position and orientation of the scanner’s wand relative to the body part being scanned. The receiver allows for patient movement during the scanning process.

Second, using the Insignia’s scanning wand, the practitioner scans the part of the body being fit for a device. By smoothly sweeping the handheld laser scanning wand over the affected body part, Insignia instantly acquires a three-dimensional image of the patient’s body part—without ever touching the patient—within minutes.