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Amputees at Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San
Antonio, Texas are walking again with the aid of new type of prosthetic leg. The
PowerFoot BiOM is a robotic lower leg system that simulates the combined movement
of the ankle, Achilles tendon, and calf muscle. "It felt like a real leg," said
Army Sgt. Jourdan Smith, who lost a limb after being wounded in Iraq three years
ago. "It take the strain of my back, my hips. I don't feel as tired at the end
of the day."
Designed by iWalk, a Cambridge, Massachusetts company led by
a former Director of Biomechatronics at MIT, the PowerFoot BiOM uses sensors
and a motor to propel the bionic limb forward and upward, returning 100% of the
energy from each step. By contrast, conventional carbon-fiber prosthetic feet
return only 50% of this energy. Over the past four months, a dozen combat
veterans have been fitted with the device at the Center for the Intrepid at
BAMC.
Should this device be fast-tracked for release to civilian
amputees?
Sources: iWalk
and KENS5
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Re: Bionic Legs for Wounded Warriors
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