A Single Word Can Change Everything
By Karen Henry
Can't has been a very good word for the O&P
profession. Rather than setting the stage for restriction and
limitation, can't is setting a brand new
stage - one in which the impossible is being challenged
head on.
Unwilling to be defined by what current upper-extremity
prosthetics can't do, the Defense Advanced Projects
Research Agency (DARPA) is pushing the envelope of what they can do
by funding research to develop an advanced mechanical platform for
an upper-extremity prosthesis in two years and a neurally
controlled upper-extremity prosthesis in four years.
"We are the impossible guys," says Col. Geoffrey Ling, MD, PhD,
manager of DARPA's Revolutionizing Prosthetics program. Judith
Philipps Otto talked with Col. Ling and brings you the story behind
some of the amazing advancements in upper-extremity
prosthetics.
Reporting on the most current progress of one DARPA-funded
project, Mary Rose Roberts talked with researchers at Johns Hopkins
University (JHU) shortly after they unveiled Proto 2, an upper-limb
prosthesis that has shown seven degrees of freedom and promises 27
degrees of freedom. Plans for the prototype arm include commercial
availability.
There are also a number of advancements in foot-ankle systems
coming down the pike, and we preview two of them in this
issue - one being developed by researchers at MIT and
another in development at Martin Bionics in partnership with
College Park Industries. Both are bringing foot-ankle systems
closer to true biologic function.
Turning can't on its head isn't limited solely to
prosthetic research and development. Overcoming can't
helped Ben Quinn resume the active lifestyle he enjoyed before a
tragic skydiving accident resulted in the amputation of his left
leg below the knee. In this month's "Today's Consumer," Quinn tells
Sherry Metzger how he was bolstered by his prosthetist, Tom
Broselle, CPO, who never said "can't" when Quinn wanted to
try something new but instead said, "Let's see what we can do so
that you'll be able to do that."
What seems impossible is largely defined by what we know to be
possible today. In terms of possibility, it has been a banner year
for O&P. For every can't being uttered out there
today, there seems to be a researcher, an entrepreneur, or other
evangelist out there saying, "Oh, yeah?"
I can't wait to see what happens next year.
I'd also like to welcome a new columnist to The O&P
EDGE. Kristin Carnahan, a second-year student in the master of
science in prosthetics and orthotics (MSPO) program at the Georgia
Institute of Technology, will be telling us her story as she
completes her master's degree in "Education Update." 
Table Of Contents - November 2007
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