About 10 years ago a patient came into our office with a prescription for a brace to treat Pectus Carinatum.  With an incidence of 1:1500, Pectus Carinatum is not a particularly prevalent disorder.  But being somewhat familiar with it, a comprehensive internet search was done to review the latest scientific research.  After reviewing the literature a call was placed to the ordering physician to discuss treatment.  At the time, the standard of care was a dual ratchet brace to apply compressive force to the chest prominence, to flatten it and avoid surgical correction.  This style of brace, with its many short comings, worked to correct the deformity until another patient presented.

This new patient had been prescribed the ratchet style brace.  After wearing it for a few weeks he discovered the brace would constantly rotate and slide off his chest prominence, rendering the brace ineffective.  Helping this patient was the beginning of the P4CO line of Orthoses.

A completely new design had to be created for this young man  Many design concepts were considered; some including springs, worm gears, steel, plastic, aluminum and combinations of all these materials.  Each design had its benefits, but most fell short of fulfilling our mission and providing all day wearing comfort.  In considering the needs of the patient and Orthotist, our design had to be low in profile, easily hidden under clothes, have few if any moving parts, not cause tears in the clothing or bed linen, be easy to put on and take off, be modular and serviceable by the Orthotist.