Summary:
Advanced Arm Dynamics has appointed Lauren Trent as senior clinical research & therapy programs lead to expand research partnerships and advance innovation in upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation.
Key Takeaways:
- Trent brings more than nine years of upper limb rehabilitation experience and has coordinated clinical trials with patients and prosthetic manufacturers.
- Her new role will focus on strengthening research collaborations to accelerate development of emerging prosthetic technologies and rehabilitation strategies.
- Advanced Arm Dynamics leverages its specialized upper limb patient population and partnerships with organizations such as the FDA, DARPA, Cleveland Clinic, and UT Southwestern Medical Center to drive research and clinical innovation.
Advanced Arm Dynamics has named Lauren Trent, MOT, as senior clinical research & therapy programs lead, a role focused on expanding the research partnerships that accelerate advances in upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation. Trent brings more than nine years of experience as an Arm Dynamics clinical therapy specialist, including three years coordinating clinical trials in partnership with patients and prosthetic industry manufacturers. She holds a master’s degree in occupational therapy and is a PhD candidate at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she is completing her doctorate in therapeutic science.
Upper limb prosthetics has historically received far less research attention than its lower limb counterpart. “Upper limb amputees are such a small patient population—about 20% of all amputees—that they get overlooked. The much larger lower-limb amputee population attracts many more research opportunities,” said Trent. “The functional demands of an upper limb prosthesis are also fundamentally different from those of a lower limb prosthesis.” As a result of these barriers, advances in upper limb devices and rehabilitation strategies have moved at a slower pace.
According to the company, the Arm Dynamics team is uniquely positioned to change that. As the only prosthetic provider in the US that focuses exclusively on upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation, Advanced Arm Dynamics works directly with research and industry partners. Because of their clinical specialty, the company has a highly proficient patient population that is impossible to find elsewhere. Its collaborators have included DARPA, the FDA, the Cleveland Clinic, UT Southwestern Medical Center, and many prosthetic component manufacturers. “Partnerships are something we do very well, built on 28 years of clinical care and research experience,” said Trent.
Working with upper limb patients is as personal as it is professional for Trent. “What excites me about advancing research partnerships is the positive impact it has on current and future upper limb patients,” she said. “The opportunity to trial emerging technologies can revolutionize the way people use their prostheses, increase their functional independence, and enrich their lives.”
About Arm Dynamics Centers
The Arm Dynamics national clinical team provides holistic upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation to people in the US and around the world. The company has five Centers of Excellence, located in Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Kansas City, KS; Portland, OR; and Minneapolis, MN. Advanced Arm Dynamics was founded in 1998 by upper limb prosthetic specialist and researcher John M. Miguelez, CP, FAAOP(D). Contact: Lauren Trent, Senior Clinical Research Lead, (913) 308-3930, [email protected]
