Lyn Jeffery, my colleague at Institute for the Future, says: "My old grad school buddy Steve Kurzman is blogging about the process of getting a new prosthetic leg. He details the making of a test socket, trying out different kinds of feet, and more." From Steve's blog, titled My New Leg:
Here's a close shot of the Elite foot, with the plastic footshell removed, and one of me testing the dorsiflexion of the foot and seeing how far I could comfortably bend the foot. While it felt nice and had some multiaxial (movement in different directions) play when standing on it, I did not like walking on it.Although I have walked on many different kinds of feet, I have come to prefer feet with a long keel (the forefoot and "toes" of the foot) and a smooth rollover. I walk quickly and take relatively long strides. A longer keel offers more resistance as I roll over the foot and gives me the sensation of having a longer foot. When I spend more time rolling over a long keel and then get a bit of spring as I lift off my toes, it's easier to take long strides at my preferred pace.
Previously on BB:
• Open source prosthetics movement Link
• Man makes prosthetic fishing rod for son Link
• Prosthetic mask makers of World War I Link
