The other day while I was watching an amputee climb the dizzy heights of Mt. Everest with his prosthetic leg, I was fascinated. That showed what the field of prosthetics can achieve. The latest news in the prosthetics industry is the new microchip-controlled artificial knee joint.
Let’s see how this works. First, the best thing about this artificial knee joint is the fact that it opens up a wide variety of movements. This particular prosthesis is above the knee and contains an inbuilt microprocessor chip that controls all the limb movements.
People using this kind of knee joint have seen a tremendous amount of improvement in mobility. Amazingly, this knee joint allows users to even walk backward fluidly. Currently, the engineers are trying to stretch its battery life to about 50 hours, which would certainly be enough diluting all hiccups that the knee might stop working in the middle of an important task.
The artificial knee is offered with the C Leg. It has two modes as of now. First one is for basic walking. Second one is mostly for strenuous activity like biking or any other preprogrammed activity. How do you change between these modes? Well, try a remote or swinging the knee.
Lt. Col. Andrew Lourake of the Andrews Air Force Base is the first above the knee amputee. He switches his knee activity between walking and flying modes. But, freedom and mobility of his knee came at a price of about $30,000.
Image Credits: Gizmag, Ottobockus
