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iWalk BiOM Power Foot
iWalk's BiOM powered prosthetic ankle-foot is the only device that correctly mimics the working of the calf muscles and Achilles tendon.
(iWalk BiOM Power Foot video)
By using robotics to replicate the calf muscles and Achilles tendon, the BiOM feels and functions like no other prostheses. With each step, the BiOM provides a powered push-off which propels the wearer forward. It is that robotic effort that enables the BiOM to normalize both the gait and metabolic demands to that of non-amputees.It is the only prosthesis in the world that does not depend on the wearer’s energy. For the first time, the prosthesis is driving the human, instead of the other way around.
Powered plantar flexion is the transformation point where prosthetics become bionic. The BiOM is the only device in commercial production that achieves bionic functionality where robotics effectively emulate natural movement.
SF fans recall reading about how important bionic feet were in creating bionic legs in Martin Caidin's Cyborg, the 1972 novel that was the basis for The Six Million Dollar Man:
...As he slept they applied pressure to the soles of his bionics feet, and side pressures, twisting forces. They measured the flow of electrical energy from his brain down the intricate nerve networks... The boosted signal went down to intricate, articulated joits that could bend, twist, and flex... Small motors spinning with nuclear energy received the signal, and in their response sent greater energy into the joints.
(Read more about Caidin's bionic legs)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/9/2012)
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