OWW Pathfinder Foot

[Wayne Renardson]

>From OANDP-L with permission of Eric of O&P Village

Original Question:
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I have an amputee interested in the OWW (Ohio Willow Wood) 
Pathfinder Foot.  I have not had any personal experience using it, 
and would like to compile a list of pros and cons for using this foot 
for this patient.  

Eric Ramcharran, CPO
Tallahassee, FL


Responses:
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There are no cons, only pros. They'll love it. I've done about six.  
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Works great poor cosmesis must have approx 9" of clearance
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The weight may be an issue for your patient & the cosmetics in my
opinion are not the best. As for function, it's great!
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I am very familiar with the Pathfinder and find it to be one of the best 
feet on the market today. I have used most of the Flex-Feet including 
the VSP, Springlite, College Park, and numerous others and have 
not found any that can match the range of performance the 
Pathfinder gives the amputee. If your patient walks a lot (not 
necessarily a runner), and is looking for better performance on 
uneven terrain, hills or just level ground, the Pathfinder is the foot of 
choice. I prefer to leave my feet uncovered for easy access. Every 
patient I have put the Pathfinder on (most have been wearing the 
VSP or Mod III Flex-Foot,) has expressed a feeling that the foot is 
alive. Follow OWW's recommendation for alignment and give the 
amputee time to get aggressive with the foot.  

I am not a one-foot prosthetist and use many feet routinely. However 
for my very active patients (even some geriatrics) usually get some 
sort of energy storing foot and I used to use Flex-Feet a lot. I have 
moved many to the Pathfinder and all of my patients really love the 
foot. There is one small caveat: on very active patients the bearings 
on the shock need replacing every 6 months. The patient will start 
getting a clicking noise from the foot. OWW currently gives the 
bearing replacement kits to you for free but I not sure how long that 
will last. Overall, the performance and durability are very good and I 
highly recommend the foot.  
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I've used four with very good results. All are BKs. One developed 
some noise problems after about six months of use but OWW 
immediately sent me out a loaner and quickly fixed the problem. 
Only problem I've noticed is one of space, i.e., length of residual 
limb plus overall length of Pathfinder sometimes exceeds MTP to 
floor length of sound side which precludes its use in a number of 
cases who might otherwise be good candidates. I understand they 
are working on this limitation at OWW.  
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I took their course and have all written material from OWW. I have 
no experience with the foot firsthand, but witnessed positive 
feedback from three below-knee amputees who were set up on the 
foot. Two of the three displayed a distressed facial expression when 
the OWW foot was removed, and the foot they had been using 
reinstalled for demonstration/ course/sales purposes. The third knew 
in advance they were going to give all three of them the feet.  

I was impressed. The course was presented well, and the product 
performed as represented. It has a lot of moving parts, is very 
expensive, and RL length limits application in some cases. I am a left 
BKA, and subject my Seattle Lite Foot to salt water in the LA marsh 
and Gulf at every opportunity. I go through a lot of feet.  

The Pathfinder is represented by OWW as impervious to 
mechanical failure from repeated salt water exposure. If funding 
allows and patient is a candidate, I think it is an excellent choice. 
Contact OWW for application specs. and return policy, etc.  

The pathfinder foot is not for me, but neither is a Jaguar XKE. It, 
like everything else in my opinion, has it's place. If you need any 
more specific info I'm sure OWW would be more than happy to 
provide you with it. PS:  It's kinda heavy, but none of the patients 
complained. 
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It's heavy and tall, so not a lot of room for alignment, especially with 
odd shaped limbs with a lock unit that has to line up with the distal 
end of the residuum. 
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I have tried the pathfinder personally and was very impressed with 
its ROM (range of motion) and response. I am used to much more 
rotation with my DAS MARS helical unit. If the person's foot size is 
small, weight and cosmetics may be an issue