A Better Bionic Leg
From: Vanderbuilt University - 08/17/2011
By: David Salisbury

A new lower-limb prosthetic developed at Vanderbilt University allows
amputees to walk without the leg-dragging gait characteristic of conventional
artificial legs. The device is the first prosthetic with powered knee and
ankle joints that operate in unison. It comes equipped with sensors that
monitor its users' motion, and has microprocessors programmed to use this
data to predict what the person is trying to do and operate the device in
ways that facilitate those movements.  

The device weighs about nine pounds - less than most human lower legs - and
can operate for three days of normal activity, or 13 to 14 kilometers of
continuous walking, on a single charge. The engineers also added an
anti-stumble routine to the device. If the leg senses that its user is
starting to stumble, it will lift up the leg to clear any obstruction and
plant the foot on the floor. 

Read the entire article and watch a video at:
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/08/bionic-leg/

Links:
Vanderbilt Center for Intelligent Mechatronics
http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/cim/

Michael Goldfarb
http://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/MechanicalEngineering/FacultyStaff/FacultyListing/MichaelGoldfarb.aspx

A shark attack leads to a collaboration that could transform the lives of amputees
http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2011/08/out-of-the-deep-hutto/

Video of Craig Hutto demonstrating the prosthetic leg.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J42F741Bqtk

Related:
Implants and prosthetice devices: Helping the body reach its full potential
http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/component/content/article/7862

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"Bionic" Leg Anticipates the Wearer's Moves
From: Gizmag - 10/24/2011
By: Vincent Rice

On June 27, 2005, wading in crystal clear waters off a near-deserted beach 50
miles south of Panama City, 16-year-old Craig Hutto was attacked by an 8-foot
bull shark and lost his right leg from above the knee. Today Hutto is a
6-foot 4-inch 23-year-old studying Nursing at Middle Tennessee State. 

Fortunately for him, Nashville also is the home of Vanderbilt University
where its Center for Intelligent Mechatronics has for seven years been
developing an advanced prosthetic limb. The center happened to need a lab
assistant to help them test it. Professor Michael Goldfarb and his team are
on the seventh iteration of a limb that combines a low-weight aluminum alloy
construction with embedded processors and powerful motorized knee and ankle
joints. 

Read the entire article and view a video (1:02) at:
http://www.gizmag.com/vanderbilt-bionic-leg/20264/

Links:
Vanderbuilt University Center for Intelligent Mechantronics
http://research.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/cim/