Prosthetic Knee Receives Standing Ovation

A prosthetic knee designed by Lord Corp. (Cary, NC; www.lord.com) was recently awarded the Smart Structures Product Implementation award at the International Society for Optical Engineering's Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials. As reported in the Profile section of the November 2000 issue of MPMN, this device uses a versatile magneto-rheological fluid that adjusts quickly to varying demands to closely recreate a natural gait. Exposure to a magnetic field changes the material from a liquid to a near-solid state, offering the different amounts of resistance needed to complete such difficult tasks as climbing stairs. The technology was modified from a truck-seat damper and offers responsiveness roughly 20 times faster than previous state-of-the-art devices. The award is shared with Biedermann Motech GmbH (Schwennigen, Germany; www.biedermann.com), who helped to design and produce the product.

Zachary Turke