Actively Powered Foot and Ankle Unveiled
From: Rehab Managemant

Someday soon, amputees will have more powerful limbs than those with their
natural bodies. iWalk, a prosthetics company formed in 2006, is gearing up to
provide the world’s first actively powered foot and ankle this year. 

The PowerFoot One will cost users an unspecified amount in the low five
figures. Similarly enabled lower limb devices we’ve seen before have similar
expenses. Upper body bionic prosthetics, which continue to trail lower limb
devices, are still experimental and can cost many tens of thousands of
dollars. Veterans in the US could see great financial support from the VA for
these limbs but most amputees simply won’t have the budget for them. As with
all forms of advancing technology, bionic limbs should experience falling
costs even as technology improves. Devices like the PowerFoot One may be too
expensive for many right now, but its successors will hopefully become
universal options for those who have lost a foot. And one day for those who
still have their foot but want to improve it. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.rehabpub.com/RMN/2010-02-01_11.asp

Links:
iWalk
http://www.iwalkpro.com/

iWalk Presents World’s First Actively Powered Foot and Ankle
http://singularityhub.com/2010/01/20/iwalk-presents-worlds-first-actively-powered-foot-and-ankle/