Orthotic & Prosthetic Innovative Technologies Conference
From Innovation to Patient Impact
An Official Academy Event
Host a Future OPTech Conference
Convene the People Shaping the Future of O&P
OPTech brings researchers, clinicians, engineers, and companies together to explore technologies shaping the future of orthotic and prosthetic care. The Academy is seeking institutions to host future conferences and create an environment where these connections and the innovations they inspire can happen
The Orthotic and Prosthetic Innovative Technologies Conference (OPTech) is now an official event of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists.
Created out of a deep commitment to advancing patient care, OPTech ensures that the O&P profession remains at the forefront of innovation. This unique conference highlights transformative developments from parallel fields—including robotics, material science, artificial intelligence, and informatics—and fosters collaboration that accelerates the adoption of innovations that improve patient outcomes.
Intentionally designed as a collaborative forum, OPTech brings together academic researchers, entrepreneurs, clinicians, and industry leaders to share ideas, spark partnerships, and turn research into practical solutions for patient care.
Robotics Material Science Artificial Intelligence Informatics
Who’s in the Room
OPTech brings clinicians, researchers, industry innovators, and academia into direct conversation around emerging technology and its application to O&P care—creating connections that can accelerate ideas from concept to clinical impact.
- Clinicians
Orthotists and Prosthetists eager to stay on the leading edge - Researchers
Researchers and developers looking to collaborate on clinical applications - Industry & InnovatorsIndustry leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors seeking opportunities to advance healthcare innovation
- Academia
Educators and students shaping the next generation of O&P
Host OPTech at Your Institution
OPTech has never had a permanent home—and that is the point. The host institution shapes the conference, and the profession comes to them.
Put your program in front of the profession
Your campus, your labs, and your clinical work become the backdrop for two days. Attendees see what your faculty and students are building, in the place they build it.
Chair the program yourself
Every OPTech has been chaired by someone from the host institution. You set the themes, shape the agenda, and decide which technologies get the floor.
Start partnerships that outlast the conference
Researchers, clinicians, and industry leave OPTech with collaborators. Hosting puts your people at the center of those introductions rather than on the receiving end of them.
*Hosting requirements, proposal timelines, and the support the Academy provides are outlined in the submission materials.
Where OPTech Has Been
Since its inception, OPTech has served as a unique gathering point for innovation in the orthotics and prosthetics profession.
OPTech was founded in 2016 by Matthew Garibaldi, MS, CPO, Academy Board of Directors member. The first conference was held at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2025, Mr. Garibaldi conveyed OPTech to the Academy, ensuring its future as a premier event dedicated to innovation in O&P.
- 2016
University of California, San Francisco
Chair: Matthew Garibaldi, MS, CPO
- 2018
University of California, San Francisco
Chair: Matthew Garibaldi, MS, CPO
- 2019
University of Michigan
Chair: Jeffrey Wensman, BSME, CPO
- 2023
Gillette Children’s
Chair: Michelle Hall, MS, CPO, FAAOP(D)
Your Institution
The next OPTech has not been placed yet. If your university, program, or health system wants to convene the profession around the technology you are working on, submit a proposal to host.
Submit a Proposal to Host→
Questions?
Please email us:
info@oandp.org
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