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Journal. Volume1, Issue1, No 1, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000    

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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EDITORIAL ISSN: 2561-987X 

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Raschke S.U. Transformation, revolution, evolution: provocative times for prosthetics & orthotics. Canadian Prosthetics & 

Orthotics Journal. Volume1, Issue1, No 1, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000   

1 

 
OPEN  ACCESS 

Provocative Times For Prosthetics & Orthotics 

  

 

Volume 1, Issue 1, Article No. 1, July 2018 

 

 

 

EDITORIAL                                                                             DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000 

TRANSFORMATION, REVOLUTION, EVOLUTION: PROVOCATIVE TIMES FOR 

PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS 

Silvia Ursula Raschke,  
Co-Editor-In-Chief                                                                                                     

 

Marshall McLuhan: “Obsolescence never meant the end of anything, it’s just the beginning” 

 
ARE WE CRAZY? 

The launch of a new journal, the Canadian 

Prosthetics and Orthotics Journal (CPOJ), is a good 

time to consider the brilliance – or foolhardiness – of 

such a venture as well-established peer-review 

journals struggle to survive.  The challenges faced by 

the traditional, print based, peer-review publishing 

model are rooted in a greater wave of rapid disruptive 

change influencing technology innovation models 

and economic models in a wide range of sectors, 

including health care across the clinical care delivery 

continuum. 

 

How will this change influence prosthetics and 

orthotics and what does it mean for the future?  

These are important questions to consider, as CPOJ 

charts a course aiming to respond to these trends in 

a positive, sustainable way while adhering to high 

professional and academic standards.  Finding 

answers starts with a short reflection on the causes 

of this change: the threads weaving the fabric of the 

Fourth Industrial Revolution. 

 

THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION  

With its origins in the mid last century, the Fourth 

Industrial Revolution is now well and truly upon us.  

Characterized by the convergence of the digital, 

physical and biological domains, fresh approaches 

and markets are being created at intersections 

between two or all three of these domains.1 The 

space occupied by prosthetics and orthotics is not 

being spared.  This most recent industrial revolution 

is being built on a foundation of vast databases that 

are created, managed and mined using newly 

developed data collection, machine learning and 

communication tools.  Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) said: 

“If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.” 

With the vast number of data driven tools now 

available the ability to improve and transform, across 

all sectors and fields, has become substantial and 

within reach.  Ready or not – change is coming.  

Early examples of this revolution’s effects can be 

found in manufacturing (digital supply chains, 

robotics), commerce (web-based business models, 

block chain) and communication (changing models 

of journalism, social media).  Academic research is 

also evolving, as the traditional peer review model is 

no longer the sole method for driving scientific 

knowledge development and dissemination. In 

prosthetics and orthotics, the first innovation cycle 

includes 3D printed prosthetic legs and customized 

foot orthotics incorporated into web-based business 

models.   Future directions will likely include smart 

prostheses and orthoses and mass customized 

devices. 

 

At the broadest level of science and discovery, the 

spirit of the Fourth Industrial Revolution demystifies 

and democratizes knowledge, engaging and 

empowering non-traditional participants who are not 

afraid to challenge the status quo. (e.g. Citizen 

Science and Maker Movements).2,3 Time honoured 

models of knowledge transfer, primarily via journals 

and conferences, are being supplemented by 

engaging, accessible models such as Ted Talks,4 

which reach vast, international audiences in 

seconds.   

   

More creative, flexible formats and portals for peer-

review level research, such as open access models, 

video journals and publication of research protocols 

without results are emerging, but in future will only be 

one part of a massive knowledge stream within what 

has become a very wide and colourful information 

pipeline. Emerging from the pipeline are a new class 

of thought leaders who challenge the traditional 

‘expert model’ where academics and professionals 

worked their way up an established hierarchy or 

credentialing process.  The days of the unchallenged 

‘expert’ are gone.5  Modalities such as social media, 

the internet and personal monitoring and 

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Raschke S.U. Transformation, revolution, evolution: provocative times for prosthetics & orthotics. Canadian Prosthetics & 

Orthotics Journal. Volume1, Issue1, No 1, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000   

2 

 
OPEN  ACCESS 

Provocative Times For Prosthetics & Orthotics 

  

 

Volume 1, Issue 1, Article No. 1, July 2018 

 

 
communication devices allow a wide range of 

solution providers from anywhere to have direct 

access to those seeking solutions without 

necessarily engaging members of the traditional 

hierarchy. 

 
THE WINDS OF CHANGE 

Canadian visionary Marshall McLuhan said 

“Obsolescence never meant the end of anything, it’s 

just the beginning”.   This axiom is taken for granted 

by those who embrace change, typically in data 

driven sectors such a business or engineering.  

These sectors tend to be early adopters of new ideas 

and technology while sectors such as health care 

traditionally lag behind in with the adoption of new 

technology and processes.6 Whichever approach 

taken, enthusiastic early adopter or reluctant 

laggard, the innovation life cycle does not stop and is 

accelerating at a faster pace than seen in the 

previous industrial revolutions.7 This paradigm shift 

is rapidly changing the terrain in all sectors, at the 

technical, societal and policy levels. 

 

Interestingly, a very commonly cited example of the 

positive effects the Fourth Industrial Revolution will 

have on society is the prosthetics and orthotics 

sector.   Prosthetic and orthotic examples provide a 

real, highly visual, easy to understand example of 

innovation potential at the convergence of the digital, 

physical and biological realms, alongside a 

compelling story of the power to radically transform 

and improve on existing approaches – more 

efficiently and at a lower cost.  While the focus in the 

Fourth Industrial Revolution is innovative technology, 

it must not be overlooked that all of this is predicated 

on the ability to provide more for less.  Whatever the 

grand vision presented, the primary drivers are 

increasingly fiscal and can never be discounted or 

overlooked. 

 

CPOJ’S GOAL 

In the spirit of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the 

Canadian Prosthetics and Orthotics Journal will 

strive to be an interdisciplinary, multi-modal 

information hub linking the digital, physical and 

biological realms as they relate to prosthetics and 

orthotics.   CPOJ is committed to providing free open 

access to high quality papers, reviewed by an 

interdisciplinary editorial board that includes persons 

from the clinical practice of prosthetics and orthotics.    

In addition, CPOJ aims to provide good quality 

information across the information pipeline, by also 

providing portals for technical papers, case studies, 

theses, poster presentations and videos in the open 

access format.   

 
The goal is to support innovation and the 

advancement of the state of practice prosthetics and 

orthotics by all persons committed to making positive 

contributions and providing the best outcomes for our 

constituent communities. 

 
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist 
expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.   
William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) 

 
As Co-editor in Chief, I wish you happy and 
challenging reading.  

 
Silvia Ursula Raschke, PhD 
  

Co-Editor-In-Chief, Project Leader, BCIT MAKE+, 

Principle Investigator, CREATE,  

British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), 3700 

Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, 

V5G 3H2 

E-mail: Silvia_Raschke@bcit.ca 

 

REFERENCES 

1. Fourth Industrial Revolution. [online]; Available at: 

https://www.weforum.org/focus/fourth-industrial-

revolution. Accessed July 9, 2018. 
 

2. What is Citizen Science? [online]; Available at: 

http://www.citizensciencecenter.com/citizen-science-

definition/. Accessed July 9, 2018. 
 

3. Hatch M. The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for 

Innovation in the New World of Crafters, Hackers and 

Tinkers. McGraw-Hill Education, Sept 2013. 

4. TED, Ideas worth spreading. [online]; Available at: 

https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization. Accessed 

July 9, 2018. 
 

5. Maasen S, Weingart P. What's New in Scientific Advice 
to Politics? Introductory Essay. In: Maasen and 
Weingart (eds) Democratization of Expertise? 
Exploring Novel Forms of Scientific Advice in Political 
Decision-Making, 2005; pp 1-20. Springer. 
 

6. Herzlinger RE. Why Innovation in Health Care is so 
Hard. Harvard Business Review. 2006; 84(5):58-66, 
156. 

7. Schwab K. The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it 
means, how to respond. World Economic Forum. 
[online]; Available at: 
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-
industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-
respond/. Accessed July 10, 2018. 

https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000
mailto:Silvia_Raschke@bcit.ca
https://www.weforum.org/focus/fourth-industrial-revolution
https://www.weforum.org/focus/fourth-industrial-revolution
http://www.citizensciencecenter.com/citizen-science-definition/
http://www.citizensciencecenter.com/citizen-science-definition/
https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/


 

Raschke S.U. Transformation, revolution, evolution: provocative times for prosthetics & orthotics. Canadian Prosthetics & 

Orthotics Journal. Volume1, Issue1, No 1, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000   

3 

 
OPEN  ACCESS 

Provocative Times For Prosthetics & Orthotics 

  

 

Volume 1, Issue 1, Article No. 1, July 2018 

 

 
SHORT SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY 

Dr. Silvia Raschke has a PhD in Prosthetics and Orthotics from 
Strathclyde University’s Faculty of Engineering (1997). Dr. 
Raschke is a research faculty member at the British Columbia 
Institute of Technology. Her research gives voice to the end users 
of products, processes or policies to ensure that the communities 
she works with are represented and have their needs met. She 
does this by employing evidence based practices to explore and 
organize how people in the community are impacted by product 
design, standards of practice (or lack thereof) and policy impact 
those people so that product design, process design and policy 
development is practical, implementable and actually support 

those who have to make things happen on the front line, on the shop floor or in their homes. Her two areas of specialty are 
rehabilitation engineering with a focus on prosthetic and orthotic design in support the clinicians and patients and first 
responders with a focus on police and the police dog service. Dr. Raschke serves on a variety of professional and 
educational committees and is a Board Member and past Vice President of the BCIT Faculty and Staff Association, in 
addition to being a member of the BCIT Emergency Response Team. She is the Principle Investigator for the Centre for 
Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology that Enables (CREATE). CREATE is a collaborative venture between BCIT 
and the Neil Squire Foundation that was funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the B.C. Knowledge 
Development Fund (2001). 
 

https://doi.org/10.33137/cpoj.v1i1.30000

