I n the days of our forefathers, chiropractic was all about using the hands. When I first began practicing nearly twenty years ago, technology focused on chiropractic tables, x-ray machines, manual or plug-in adjusting instruments, and physiotherapy machines. Our expectations of what a chiropractor could use were much less complicated than in previous years. Today, we find a world full of smartphoncs, handheld digital devices, flat screen televisions, and much more. Society has embraced current technology and it is hungry for the latest and greatest releases of it. Now it's up to us. as chiropractors, to detennine the role technology will play in our offices. As an avid user of new technology. I have found a tremendous benefit to my patients and ultimately to my bottom line. I have had the good fortune of using many types of new equipment and adjusting instruments. I am always trying to stay ahead in the technology industry and on the cutting edge. Of all the items I have acquired, my Foot Lcvcl-crs 3D Body View™ scanner lias proven to be the best. This article will focus on what makes it unique, how it improves patient understanding, and why offering the latest in technology speaks louder to your patients than any amount of marketing you can do. Technology Evolves and so Does Chiropractic Chiropractic is no stranger to new technology. Our profession lias always been fortunate to have moving tables, adjusting instruments, massagers. and other types of modality equipment available to us. Technology has likewise expanded so that we have tools with which to help people in different ways. In this modem era. there arc expectations from patients that all healthcare providers keep up with technology to some degree. Electronic health records, lightning-fast computers, therapy lasers, digital x-ray or diagnostic imaging, electronic adjusting instruments, and digital foot scanners arc only some examples. Our patients expect us to have the latest technology because they already do in their lives. The advent of cell phones and faster computers keeps us connected. Other electronics like televisions, cameras, and kitchen appliances arc now so advanced that we take them for granted. Incredible examples of practice management software, automated adjusting tables, "smart adjusting" instruments, and lasers arc at every seminar for us to salivate over. Investing in your practice and your patients by having updated technology helps deliver great patient care and keeps us on the cusp of current trends. What Is 3D Body View™? Those who arc cautious about new items often like to wait to see if they last or if they arc just passing fads. That is understandable, but not applicable here. Foot Lcvclcrs has been at the forefront of scanning technology for chiropractors since 2001. In 2010. Foot Lcvclcrs rolled out the new V7 scanner and then upgraded it to the V7+ version in 2011. There has been talk through the years of utilizing 3D in the scanner and Foot Lcvclcrs has quietly and diligently worked on this technology trying to perfect it. They finally introduced the scanner in 2012 and it quickly became extremely popular. I have used a weight bearing system for casting since the days of foam molds right up until the most recent version, the V7. I was really good with the foam molds and I still am. In fact, some of you arc still using them. Times change and with it. our methods evolve. We stav fresh and on top of things when we can sec the wisdom of changing as well. Updating and embracing new technologies and ways of doing things keeps us grow ing and learning. As the new scanner was introduced, part of my brain retracted to this old way of thinking. I was a little resistant, as some of you might be. Rather than ignore a new opportunity, though. I went right to work in my mind and began with the quintessential question: Will it be worth it to buy the new 3D Body View™ scanner from Foot Lcvclcrs? Evaluation of the 3D Body View™ Whether we like it or not. most of us are small business owners. We have to evaluate purchases from a cost-benefit ratio. We also have to balance the excitement of having something new to the reality of being able to make it work and be successful. Each of our practices is different. Some are large, multi-doctor facilities and some can be one or two rooms with a single doctor. Either way. you want to make sure you make the right choice when choosing new equipment. Right off the bat. I realized some of the benefits: The cost was quite affordable for the 3D Body View™ system, especially considering you get a new scanner, a new laptop, promotional materials to advertise it. and customer support. The free orthotics that came with the new system made the price almost nonexistent. Once I sold those. I re couped 80% of the cost of the machine. The system lias a money-back guarantee for 12 months. If I did not like it during that time period, they would take it back and I would get all of my money back. I could write the cost of the system off on my taxes and depreciate the cost of the machine over the next few years. (*I am not offering specific tax advice, so please consult your CPA or financial advisor as it pertains to your practice.*) With those preliminary questions answered, it was on to the next round of logic. Why should I bother switching to the new 3D Body View™ scanner when my old V7 scanner worked just fine? If I was getting my very first scanner, why would it be this one? Let me answer by explaining the rest of the parameters I discovered that helped me determine tliat this piece of equipment was indeed a wise acquisition. These parameters could be applied by any chiropractor looking to upgrade his or her current scanner or to add a scanner for the first time. Better "Wow Factor" You may not buy the latest iPhonc or the newest digital camera when it is released, but some of your patients certainly do. New technology impresses people when placed strategically for patients to sec when they walk by or stand around in your office. Patients notice when you have new technology. This is a strong piece of silent marketing. This speaks volumes about you. your ability to keep up with current research, techniques, and trends. This can be more powerful than any piece of marketing you do to promote your practice. They believe you arc investing in your practice and that is what successful people do. More importantly, new equipment is something patients see as proof that you arc investing in the care you provide for them. The 3D Body View™ scanner is bigger and better than the old one. and patients who sec it want you to scan them. Just put it in an obvious place in your practice and they will ask you. even if you forget to ask them. Visually Stunning Scans The 3D picture of the foot is remarkable, and the image is really a step up from V7+. The new scanner captures the appearance of the foot and includes details like wrinkles, lines, and sharper flesh tones. Colorizing the 3D foot image gives a crisper. clearer picture of the foot. Patients have never been able to sec the type of detail this scanner creates. You have the ability to zoom in and make the foot quite large so patients get a great look at their feet. Not only is it an effective visual tool when we colorize it. but it is amazing to be able to rotate the foot so you can show patients their arches up close and sec how collapsed they arc. The previous scanners could never do that. I often rotate the foot so patients have an idea of the depth and degree of their arches" collapse. We arc visual creatures and patients are amazed and impressed by this new clement. Arch Height Indicators The three arch height indicators (blue bars) remain present on the first few screens of the scanner procedure. They tell the patient how flat both feet are after averaging the three arch heights together. Combine this with the Pronation/Stability Index™, and you have two pieces of infonnation right near each other to help the patient understand how flat his or her feet are. Since these indicators are easy for the patient to sec. it adds to the case of use and the flow to the next screen. Best Stabilizer Wizard™ to Date By the time you have reached the "patient infonnation" section, you will begin to sec perhaps the biggest change to the software. After entering the patient's infonnation. we need to enter three more pieces of infonnation: shoe type, activity level, and any other special considerations. Foot Lcvclcrs has reorganized their orthotic lines and rebranded them to make it more efficient and easier for chiropractors to order. Using this new system of choosing orthotics takes the guesswork out of what you are doing. Once the software knows the type of shoe, the activity level and any special options, it will automatically give you the best choice. You can always override the choice if you prefer another orthotic type. Impact Force Indicator & Stress on the Body The new force indicator gives a quantitative measure of how much stress goes into the heel with an average step. The patient can follow that red arrow all the way up the leg. through the hips, and back up to the top of the neck. There another reading is listed that gives the patient an idea of how much neck pressure is present. The force indicatorputs actual numbers in front of the patients' eyes, and they can actually see the quantifiable amount of force The Scanner's Impact on my Patient, Sunny Sunny is a 55-year-old. Caucasian female who was referred to me. She presented to my office for terrible antcromedial left knee pain that she had felt for over five months. She had a long history of lower extremity and lower back pain and her right knee had been totally replaced three years ago. She had a very bad experience with the post-surgical recovery and still felt pain from the right knee occasionally. Her orthopedic surgeon informed her it would be only a matter of time until the left knee was replaced as well. Sunny is 5' 4" and weighs 215 lbs. The pain was always worse with weight bearing activities and better when sitting or lying down. The pain was so bad in her left knee that it was starting to affect her sleep and resting positions. Sunny was frustrated with the medical care she had received. She never got an explanation for why her right knee had worn down in the first place, what was physically happening with her knee joint, or why she needed surgery. In days past, she was able to walk. jog. and do step aerobics. After the right knee replacement, her activity level had decreased. Once her left knee started to hurt, she gave up walking altogether. She was scared and worried about having to go fora second surgery when she really did not enjoy the first one. She wanted options and hoped I could help. Sunny's exposure to medical technology had been through x-ray and an MRI on her knees done more than three years prior. I knew based on her presentation, history, and exam that her problem was easily related to the lack of arch support for her feet. However, I wanted her to see the evidence for herself, so I brought her over to my 3D Body View™ scanner and imaged her feet. She was surprised by how quick and easy the scan was for her. She was even more amazed at the details of her feet that she saw on the computer screen. I used the color images and the quantitative measures on the screens to explain how the ovcrpronation of her feet caused so much of her knee stress. It was very obvious from the moment she stepped on the scanner that she loved the technology. All I had to do was move through each successive screen to teach her what was happening. The explanation I gave her about biomcchanics. her feet, arches, and their effect on the rest of the body was something she had never heard. The information on the screens, along with my explanations and recommendations, was all she needed to understand why she felt pain in her knees and back. After getting her a pair of Foot Levelers" Stabilizing Or-thotics. Sunny's knee and lower back no longer hurt. Now she is jogging again and doing Zumba. It's safe to say her quality of life lias improved dramatically. affecting their bodies. I was surprised at how much the patients reacted after seeing their numbers. Patients' Reactions I have never been one to like sales and selling. That is what I love about the Foot Levelcrs scanner and the promotional materials they send with it. My Foot Lcvclcrs scanners have always been in a highly visible place in my office. Patients walk by it on their way to various treatment rooms. I do this purposely so the scanner becomes an interesting point of conversation. Some of my patients have been with me through each successive progression to a newer scanner. Main times they want a new scan, and often they want to update to a new pair of Stabilizing Orthotics. The new catalogs, the redesigned appearance of the Stabilizing Orthotics. and the new marketing materials arc top notch. In each of my treatment rooms. I have Stabilizing Orthotics and brochures on display along with a stack of catalogs patients can take home. Near my scanner. I have posters and orthotics hanging around so they can touch and feel them while I show them their findings on the scanner. The patients arc hungry for this type of information because they aren't getting great explanations about their symptoms from western medicine. Our knowledge of biomcchanics and joint movement, combined with the adjustments and orthotic supplementation, is a recipe for success. Bringing it All Home! At the end of the day. I am a chiropractor through and through. Experience has taught me to have ancillary products to bring in added income and help improve my skill level. Realizing the importance of the feet to body stability and my skills with adjusting the feet and extremities have given me quite an advantage in my area with regards to my medical counterparts. Having the latest version of the scanner ensures that I stay at the top of my game. My scanner is the most important piece of equipment I have in the office. Many of you already use a version of the Foot Lcvclcrs scanner or other technology that might seem similar. Some of you also have made the choice to use orthotics to help your adjustments and your patients. Consider the information I have provided and sec if it helps you make a clearer decision. If you arc referring out to another type of foot doctor or specialist, you should be the one prescribing the orthotics. Your knowledge combined with your adjusting skills make you extremely qualified to excel in this arena. I have only had my new 3D Body View™ scanner since November 2012. However. I had it paid off after one week. It ended up being a great decision for my practice. Better still. I have my V7+ scanner as a portable scanner to take to health fairs and sporting events. If I can do it. so can you. Now go out and amaze your patients and stay on the cutting edge! Dr. Kevin Wong is an expert on foot analysis, walking and standing postures and orthotics. Teaching patients and chiropractors is a passion for him. and he travels the country speaking about spinal and extremity adjusting. Dr. Wong practices full-time in Orinda. California. ("outact Dr. \\ 'ong at 925-254-4040 or drkevinwongQtjgmail. com.
