This amazing TED Talk by Hugh Herr explores how far the design of artificial limbs and prosthetic devices has come, and where it is heading. Mr. Herr is an MIT professor as well as a double amputee who lost both of his legs in a mountain climbing accident. He had sustained extreme tissue damage due to frostbite, and his legs had to be amputated. He never let himself think of himself as being "broken" and instead focused on the belief that it was the available technology to help him get back to normal that was broken.
This drove him to seek out better prosthetic devices that would allow him to get back to climbing and living his life. He created his own devices that not only allowed him to get back to what he loved, they actually were better than his original legs at certain tasks! Specially designed feet allowed him to find purchase in crevices and on ice that a regular foot would be unable to.
His talk goes through the mathematics, science, and design principles behind the amazing prosthetic technology they are creating to help people. The amazing part is not just that they have been able to allow people to get on their feel and walk, they actually are able to walk almost as naturally as they did before their injuries.
One of the most powerful parts of the video was his closing. Adrianne Haslet-Davis was a ballroom dancer, who lost one of her legs in the Boston Marathon Bombings. In seconds she was robbed of her ability to dance and express herself through the art form that she loved. Mr. Herr took it upon himself to put his team to work on a prosthesis that would return her to the dance floor. In 200 days they had researched and designed her a new leg... this video ends with her first performance using it.
Here is a copy of the TED Video:
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