Sydney ASM, 2005

This meeting attracted the largest number of delegates of any ISPO ASM to date. Over 230 attendees visited Sydney to participate in the trade display, free papers, keynote addresses and many workshops, symposia and panel discussions.

Dr. Richard Baker of the Clinical Centre for Research Excellence (CCRE) Murdoch Children's Research Institute presented the keynote address "What can clinical gait analysis offer prosthetists and orthotists", and later gave a workshop that enabled some 50 attendees to gain a deeper understanding of the value of clinical gait analysis in prosthetics and orthotics decision making.

A number of minor themes were also considered. Invited speakers and many outstanding free papers considered topics as diverse as Early management of the amputee, Preparing the amputee athlete, Amputations in a disaster setting, Managing the high risk foot, Upper limb prosthetic advances and Articulated ground reaction force ankle foot orthosis (GRAFO).

The meeting was particularly valuable as it attracted a truly multidisciplinary group including physiotherapists, rehabilitation specialists, surgeons, consumers and of course, many prosthetists and orthotists.

Parallel sessions were organised by the Australian Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, Australia's peak professional body representing orthotists and prosthetists within Australia. These sessions allowed delegates to consider crucial professional issues in contemporary health care in Australia.