I recently attended a monthly meeting of my local CMSA Chapter.  The sponsor for the meeting was Snell Orthotics and Prosthetics of Little Rock who had invited BiOM to come and speak to us about advanced prosthetics.  John Braddock of BiOM and a patient model showed us an example with the iWalk PowerFoot.  During the presentation, John shared with us that select service members are participating in a program that will allow them to return to active duty.
 
The Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) in West Union, Ohio, is where the participants …

A project at Vanderbilt University is building  a “smart” prosthesis that gives amputees a more natural gait.  Michael Goldfarb, a professor of mechanical engineering, at Vanderbilt’s Center for Intelligent Mechatronics, has been working for several years with Craig Hutto, who lost his leg in 2005 when he was attacked by a shark. Hutto, who is a lab assistant, has offered valuable input on what works and what doesn’t work for amputees. That has gone a long way towards making the bionic leg comfortable and workable in real-world conditions.
As a life care …

This month represents the first National Limb Loss Awareness month.  As an Nurse Life Care Planner that specializes in developing life care plans for amputees, I am delighted that this issue is getting the attention it deserves.  Did you know 60% of limb loss is preventable?  That is due to the fact that the number ONE reason for lower limb amputation is diabetes.
 
Here are some statistics on amputations in the United States:

U.S. Amputee Population Approximately 1.7 million
82% of Amputations Are Dysvascular Related
97% are  of Dyvsacular amputations lower limb
In General …