Newsroom

From prosthetic legs to spinal braces, this team gets creative when it comes to helping patients get back on their feet. 🦿

Prosthetist Orthotists Rachel and Alyssa work with patients to find their perfect fit of a prosthetic or orthotic device to help them kick goals on their recovery journey.

"It is a pretty niche profession, and each day is different. We see outpatients where we assess them and make something custom, but we are also on the wards fitting off the shelf devices and we also do specialty clinics," Alyssa said.

"There is a lot more to orthotics than just foot orthotics which is what people think of firstly, orthotics is any externally applied supportive device so that could be a knee brace, or an abdominal binder or a halo," Rachel said.

"One of my favourite parts of the job is that we do our assessment, make the patient a device and typically the patient feels the effects of our work instantly, someone could come in in a wheelchair not being able to walk, you give them a prosthesis or an orthosis and they can walk that day," Rachel added. 🤍 ...

Did you know that not every stroke looks the same? Whilst you may think you know what a stroke looks like, it can present differently in different people.

Claire who is a Senior Staff Specialist (Stroke) at the RBWH says that whilst there are common symptoms that are well recognised as a stroke, patient demographics like age or gender may play a part in a diagnosis.

"The most common and recognisable symptoms of a stroke is that weakness on one side, heavy bruises, slurring your words or having trouble speaking, words coming out as nonsense words and facial droop is also probably a common and recognisable one," Claire said.

"To a certain degree, symptoms in younger people can present a little bit differently, so when we`re talking someone under the age of 40, doctors aren`t always expecting to see a stroke. However, younger people may also compensate better for the symptoms, such as milder weakness whereas in the older population it is clearer."

Because of the difference in presentation, Claire and her colleagues are skilled at detecting strokes in any age group. ...

World-first research being conducted at TPCH offers hope for earlier diagnosis of occupational lung diseases including silicosis. 🫁

Australia`s first dedicated PExA (Particles in Exhaled Air) machine was funded by The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation through its Tradie Health Institute initiative.

Professor Dan Chambers, Senior Thoracic Physician and Head of Research at the Queensland Lung Transplant Service said this technology represents a significant change in what is possible for workers at risk.

“We’re trialling a new technology that can detect tiny particles from the deepest part of the lungs using a breath sample, and this could allow us to identify disease much earlier, before serious damage occurs," he said.

“Positioning Queensland at the forefront of global efforts to detect occupational lung disease earlier, more safely and more precisely than ever before, our research has the potential to reshape how these conditions are identified, monitored, treated, and ultimately prevented.

“What excites us is not just better diagnosis, but the possibility of earlier intervention. If we can identify disease at a much earlier stage, we have a real opportunity to change outcomes." ...