A LEG UP

BIOTECH

IT MAY LOOK like a conventional artificial leg, but a new prosthetic created by a Canadian engineering firm is set to become the first commercially available bionic leg. Developed by a team of 60 biomechanical, electrical, software, and mechanical engineers, Victhom Human Bionics' prosthetic features sensors in the amputee's shoes that send signals to an artificial memory, which reacts in real time to mimic the movement of a normal leg. "Current models are devices that just absorb the mechanical energy at the joints," explains Benoit Côte, Victhom's chairman and CEO. "But when you walk there are times when you need to absorb energy and times when you need to expend energy. Our prosthetic can do both."

Currently there are 20 amputees putting the leg through its paces before the device is released this fall to the public. "They all report that they can do a lot of things that were impossible before," Côte says,"like walking fast, walking on a steep slope, climbing stairs, and even just sitting down and standing much more naturally." The prosthesis is powered by a rechargeable battery and weighs exactly what a normal human leg weighs-for a man 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 10 pounds.-TG

QUOTED

"WE'RE ALMOST THERE."

-John Pearson, director of Stanford University's Bechtel International Center, on whether the college will advise foreign students against traveling home. Re-entering the United States has become more difficult due to enhanced, post-9/11 security measures.

Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Sep 2004
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