Advances in Prosthetic Legs

Another article re-post I'm afraid, but this has been on my mind a lot lately.

I spoke with the Prosthetist who's building my first leg the other day and I'm told I'm getting one of the most advanced systems they've ever assembled at this hospital. They're all very excited to finally have someone eligible to receive these components as much of it is based on physical fitness, age and suitability.

The components I'm getting are coming from Ossur, an Icelandic based prosthetics company renowned for its unique running feet.

I'm sure you've probably heard about the incredible story of Oscar Pistorius, the double below knee amputee who very nearly qualified for the South African Olympic team this past year and instead took home the gold medal in the 100, 200 and 400 meter Paralympic events in Beijing. Oscar runs on Ossur's Cheetah Flex-Foot system.

In doing some research on Ossur and the components I'll be receiving, I came across this article in the Spectrum (again). It's incredible the advances they've made in these limbs.

Read the article here: http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/nov05/2189

I'm set to head in for casting on Friday with any luck. From the cast, they'll mold by socket and begin assembling the suspension system. The wait is excruciating but I'm glad the process is finally underway.