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.

The Revolution Will Be Prosthetized (IEEE Spectrum)

This is seriously cool! Imagine having a prosthetic arm and still being able to feel sensations through it like heat or textures. It's one of those cases where the truth is stranger than the fiction, and the truth absolutely blows my mind.

I saw this article in the IEEE Spectrum hard-copy and thought I was going to have to re-write it here word for word until a quick google search found the exact same article online.

"The Revolution Will Be Prosthetized: DARPA's prosthetic arm gives amputees new hope"

A few teaser excerpts:
"...research is part of a nationwide effort to create a neurally controlled prosthetic arm. That arm has been the focus of much media attention, but that focus obscures the truly groundbreaking research typical of the Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 (RP2009) program.

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is pouring at least US $71.2 million into the program in the hope that it will let amputees do what most people take for granted: make gestures, test the water in a teacup, turn a key, even peel the shell off an egg. Words like bionic and thought-controlled have been thrown at the project, but they don’t do justice to the sheer ordinariness of its purpose. DARPA isn’t looking for a superstrong “Six Million Dollar Man” arm; it just wants an arm that moves exactly like a real one does."

Canadian connection:
"In October, a Canadian hospital announced that it had used part of the control mechanism of the DARPA arm to steer regular, nonrevolutionized prosthetic arms in two patients. Simply borrowing that one technology has made huge improvements in commercially available prosthetic devices."

Read the whole article here:
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/jan09/7105
"DARPA’s device is the world’s first truly neurally controlled prosthetic arm."