Prostheses are artificial replacements for missing body parts, such as joints or limbs.

Current prescribed prostheses lag behind natural limbs/joints in terms of stability, controllability, comfort and versatility. Lower-limb amputees struggle with fatigue and limited mobility, restricting daily activity and adversely effecting quality of life.

My research interests are in development of lower-limb prosthetic technology that provides the user with better limb functionality, controllability and versatility, as well as improves amputee walking economy and comfort.

The Oscar Pistorius Debate: Do prosthetic limbs give amputees a racing advantage?

Point-Counterpoint debate between leading biomechanics researchers (2010)

My Response to the debate (2010)

My Earlier Thoughts on the issue (pre-Olympics 2008)

Controlled Energy Storage and Return (CESR) Prosthesis

Instead of trying to create an artificial replacement that mimics the exact function of the human foot, perhaps we can take advantage of the natural dynamics of walking to improve prostheses.

Prostheses Links

Steve Collins, Intelligent Prosthetic Systems, TU Delft

Hugh Herr, Biomechatronics Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Thomas Sugar, Human Machine Integration Laboratory, Arizona State University

Prosthetics Research Lab, Northwestern University

Orthotics and Prosthetics Online

Manufacturers

Ossur

Endolite

Otto Bock