Guest guest Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 Children's Health Care of Atlanta is conducting a study using the STARscanner non-contact laser data acquisition system to document head shape changes. One of the groups they are studying is children with moderate-severe plagiocephaly that are not being treated. As part of the study they scan children referred by pediatrians and cranial facial specialists even if they have not been referred for an orthosis. In this way, they can use the consistent information of the scanner to provide ongoing documentation to physicians, parents, insurance companies, and other interested parties to determine if the problem is " correcting on its own " , or benefitting by repositioning techniques. There are six STARscanners already placed throughout the country-- the one in Houston is a mobile unit. Not only does the scanner eliminate the casting process, it also has the potential through research to answer many of the questions posed by parents, physicians, and others regarding the long term effects of positional plagiocephaly,brachycephaly, and other types of skull deformities. There have been several studies published that compare infants that have been treated with repositioning alone to those that have been treated with a cranial remolding orthosis, but none of these studies compared children with the same degree of asymmetry. Hopefully, through research with a consistent measurement tool and long term follow up, we can begin to get data that will hold up to scientific scrutiny. Dr. Clarren and Dr. Panchal have each published studies about a link with positional plagiocephaly and developmental delay. Dr. Clarren compared infants diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly to their siblings,and tracked school related problems. Dr. Panchal's study used the Bayley Scale of Infant Development to evaluate infants with positional plagiocephaly and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and found a higher than average incidence of delay in both groups compared to the Bayley Scales. The average age of children in the study was under 11 months (although there are plans to follow up on these children long-term.) An interesting side bar is that the Bayley Scales were established in the United States in 1965, when the preferred sleeping position was prone (on the tummy). In 1967 a study by and Yule was conducted that found that English infants did not score as high when compared to American children on the Bayley. One variable that was different for the English babies is that English infants tended to sleep on their backs! Perhaps the scales of developmental milestones need to be reformulated based on the supine or back sleeping position for infants in the U.S. Since the " back to sleep " program has been so successful in reducing the incidence of SIDS, we know that it is here to stay--and rightly so. Now we need to do our part to educate new parents about the importance of supervised tummy time--from the first day babies come home from the hospital. Incorporating this into the daily schedule of our babies will not only help prevent skull deformation, but will encourage neck and trunk extension and rotation, and facilitate developmental skills like creeping and crawling. This group does a great job of spreading that message. Hopefully with some of the new tools available to evaluate head shape change in all types of deformational skull problems, we will have scientific data to document the success of treatment with cranial remolding orthoses, and will also be able to document the long term results of untreated postional plagiocephaly. Dulcey Lima C.O. OTR/L Orthomerica Products, Inc. Clinical Education Manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 Thank you Dulcey!! Always good to hear of all the positive research going into the cause! ) I can't wait to read some of the studies (oh, the years of anticipation! ;o)!!! Kendra Flat heads everywhere Children's Health Care of Atlanta is conducting a study using the STARscanner non-contact laser data acquisition system to document head shape changes. One of the groups they are studying is children with moderate-severe plagiocephaly that are not being treated. As part of the study they scan children referred by pediatrians and cranial facial specialists even if they have not been referred for an orthosis. In this way, they can use the consistent information of the scanner to provide ongoing documentation to physicians, parents, insurance companies, and other interested parties to determine if the problem is "correcting on its own", or benefitting by repositioning techniques.There are six STARscanners already placed throughout the country--the one in Houston is a mobile unit. Not only does the scanner eliminate the casting process, it also has the potential through research to answer many of the questions posed by parents, physicians, and others regarding the long term effects of positional plagiocephaly,brachycephaly, and other types of skull deformities. There have been several studies published that compare infants that have been treated with repositioning alone to those that have been treated with a cranial remolding orthosis, but none of these studies compared children with the same degree of asymmetry. Hopefully, through research with a consistent measurement tool and long term follow up, we can begin to get data that will hold up to scientific scrutiny. Dr. Clarren and Dr. Panchal have each published studies about a link with positional plagiocephaly and developmental delay. Dr. Clarren compared infants diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly to their siblings,and tracked school related problems. Dr. Panchal's study used the Bayley Scale of Infant Development to evaluate infants with positional plagiocephaly and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and found a higher than average incidence of delay in both groups compared to the Bayley Scales. The average age of children in the study was under 11 months (although there are plans to follow up on these children long-term.) An interesting side bar is that the Bayley Scales were established in the United States in 1965, when the preferred sleeping position was prone (on the tummy). In 1967 a study by and Yule was conducted that found that English infants did not score as high when compared to American children on the Bayley. One variable that was different for the English babies is that English infants tended to sleep on their backs! Perhaps the scales of developmental milestones need to be reformulated based on the supine or back sleeping position for infants in the U.S. Since the "back to sleep" program has been so successful in reducing the incidence of SIDS, we know that it is here to stay--and rightly so. Now we need to do our part to educate new parents about the importance of supervised tummy time--from the first day babies come home from the hospital. Incorporating this into the daily schedule of our babies will not only help prevent skull deformation, but will encourage neck and trunk extension and rotation, and facilitate developmental skills like creeping and crawling. This group does a great job of spreading that message. Hopefully with some of the new tools available to evaluate head shape change in all types of deformational skull problems, we will have scientific data to document the success of treatment with cranial remolding orthoses, and will also be able to document the long term results of untreated postional plagiocephaly.Dulcey Lima C.O. OTR/LOrthomerica Products, Inc.Clinical Education Manager.For more plagio info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 This is great! I would have Dane's head scanned or measured 2 times a day if it could help with any research! Dane's mom DOC Band (2/14) > Children's Health Care of Atlanta is conducting a study using the > STARscanner non-contact laser data acquisition system to document > head shape changes. One of the groups they are studying is children > with moderate-severe plagiocephaly that are not being treated. As > part of the study they scan children referred by pediatrians and > cranial facial specialists even if they have not been referred for > an orthosis. In this way, they can use the consistent information > of the scanner to provide ongoing documentation to physicians, > parents, insurance companies, and other interested parties to > determine if the problem is " correcting on its own " , or benefitting > by repositioning techniques. > > There are six STARscanners already placed throughout the country-- > the one in Houston is a mobile unit. Not only does the scanner > eliminate the casting process, it also has the potential through > research to answer many of the questions posed by parents, > physicians, and others regarding the long term effects of positional > plagiocephaly,brachycephaly, and other types of skull deformities. > > There have been several studies published that compare infants that > have been treated with repositioning alone to those that have been > treated with a cranial remolding orthosis, but none of these studies > compared children with the same degree of asymmetry. Hopefully, > through research with a consistent measurement tool and long term > follow up, we can begin to get data that will hold up to scientific > scrutiny. > > Dr. Clarren and Dr. Panchal have each published studies about a link > with positional plagiocephaly and developmental delay. Dr. Clarren > compared infants diagnosed with positional plagiocephaly to their > siblings,and tracked school related problems. Dr. Panchal's study > used the Bayley Scale of Infant Development to evaluate infants with > positional plagiocephaly and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and found > a higher than average incidence of delay in both groups compared to > the Bayley Scales. The average age of children in the study was > under 11 months (although there are plans to follow up on these > children long-term.) > > An interesting side bar is that the Bayley Scales were established > in the United States in 1965, when the preferred sleeping position > was prone (on the tummy). In 1967 a study by and Yule was > conducted that found that English infants did not score as high when > compared to American children on the Bayley. One variable that was > different for the English babies is that English infants tended to > sleep on their backs! Perhaps the scales of developmental milestones > need to be reformulated based on the supine or back sleeping > position for infants in the U.S. > > Since the " back to sleep " program has been so successful in reducing > the incidence of SIDS, we know that it is here to stay--and rightly > so. Now we need to do our part to educate new parents about the > importance of supervised tummy time--from the first day babies come > home from the hospital. Incorporating this into the daily schedule > of our babies will not only help prevent skull deformation, but will > encourage neck and trunk extension and rotation, and facilitate > developmental skills like creeping and crawling. This group does a > great job of spreading that message. > > Hopefully with some of the new tools available to evaluate head > shape change in all types of deformational skull problems, we will > have scientific data to document the success of treatment with > cranial remolding orthoses, and will also be able to document the > long term results of untreated postional plagiocephaly. > > Dulcey Lima C.O. OTR/L > Orthomerica Products, Inc. > Clinical Education Manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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