title: A comparison of treatment effectiveness between the CAD/CAM method and the manual method for managing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
abstract: The treatment effectiveness of the CAD/CAM method and the manual method in managing adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) was compared. Forty subjects were recruited with twenty subjects for each method. The clinical parameters namely Cobb's angle and apical vertebral rotation were evaluated at the pre-brace and the immediate in-brace visits. The results demonstrated that orthotic treatments rendered by the CAD/CAM method and the conventional manual method were effective in providing initial control of Cobb's angle. Significant decreases (p < 0.05) were found between the pre-brace and immediate in-brace visits for both methods. The mean reductions of Cobb's angle were 12.8 degrees (41.9%) for the CAD/CAM method and 9.8 degrees (32.1%) for the manual method. An initial control of the apical vertebral rotation was not shown in this study. In the comparison between the CAD/CAM method and the manual method, no significant difference was found in the control of Cobb's angle and apical vertebral rotation. The current study demonstrated that the CAD/CAM method can provide similar result in the initial stage of treatment as compared with the manual method.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Engineering Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China. rcmswong@polyu.edu.hk
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: J C Y
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001915:Braces; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012399:Rotation; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013131:Spine / Q000503:physiopathology