Prosthetic Videos

[00:00] Today!

[00:03] Getting my leg! How are you feeling?

[00:06] Amazing!

[00:07] Let’s do it!

[00:41] What do you think?

[00:42] This is awesome!

[00:44] Perfect!

[00:44] This is my leg to keep!

[00:46] Yeah!

[00:49] We’ll keep it for a while, but probably I’ll probably keep it for a while.

[00:53] Oh my god!

[00:54] This is awesome!

[00:04] this is how a company in basing State Hampshire makes prosthetic legs they start at the bottom the chemicals isocyanate and polyol are mixed together to make a rubber compound which

[00:31] is injected into a mold 1 minute later a hard foot appears nine different sizes are available [Music] next the shin is manufactured from carbon fiber the kind of stuff you normally find on supercars after it’s been laid out the sheet is baked under immense pressure for 90 minutes this compresses the layers of carbon fiber into a thin light

[00:50] but immensely strong structure next come the joints this is an ankle strength is crucial so it’s machined from a solid block of aluminium this is a five AIS Machining Center one of only two in the UK the other belongs to a leading Formula 1 T it cuts out the ankle joint while

[01:12] fluid keeps the blades cool from raw aluminium to finished joint the component parts of the joint are then assembled if the limb is designed for very active use then

[01:27] the design is incredibly complex this topof the range Knee will take 2 days to build and contains Hydraulics brakes microchips and

[01:38] even miniature Motors they all make the action and reaction of the joint as natural and stable as possible finally the socket has to be manufactured the bit that

[01:52] connects all this high-tech Wizardry to the patient the hospital simply provides a digital map of the stump from which a Pham cast can be [Music] produced a hot PL plastic film is then

[02:04] draped over it and vacuum packed against the Contours a perfect fit every time and for those who don’t wear trousers here’s where they make the skin it’s a silicon compound available in eight different shades and carefully tailored to mask the joints

[02:27] add in some padding and you’d never know the difference

[00:01] in a sense you’re not an an te anymore you don’t look down walking is pretty much you don’t think about walking you just do it my name is Rick Knapton I’m an ampute in 2002 I was walking down the street and helped a couple of kids get a ball off of a roof and I fell about 3 ft and

[00:24] shattered my ankle oh wow and went roughly 8 years before I finally just said I didn’t want to keep it anymore I had my leg removed 3 months later my prosthetist was contacted by Jennifer McCarthy one of the prosthetists here and invited me over to walk the ankle

[00:43] this is my conventional foot it’s it’s a very good foot um it’s College Park um it’s a conventional in a sense there is no power whatever I give to it it gives half of that back iwok prosthetic ankle the biome takes it to the next level it’s a robot ankle it is a bionic

[01:03] device so um we are actually mimicking the physiology of the human body just like a muscle the biome provides power that helps the user push off from the ground with every step it helps you in a sense that it allows you to maintain a normalized gate mhm whereas if I didn’t

[01:22] have this power assist I may not be able to do that mhm the biome can tell whether the user is walking running climbing a ramp or walking downstairs its sensors measure where it is in space and its microprocessors determine how much it should flex and how hard to push off

[01:39] from the ground so there’s um gyroscope in there there’s an accelerometer basically a six do system or 6 degrees of Freedom um that’s that’s located in the IMU and uh that that’s the inertial measurement unit okay um so it’s measuring uh going forward going backwards side to side up and down down

[02:00] so it knows where it is in you know in all planes of space and um based on that input it you know then communicates the encoder uh via State and motor controller um to do what it does the biome responds reflexively to the user’s Pace supplying more or less power as

[02:19] needed so we uh we use this bluetooth enabled um tablet to communicate wirelessly to the ankle and um we have various parameters that we’re tuning so one of them is considered the stiffness and this controls how quickly the foot descends down to the ground the best part once a

[02:40] user’s robot angle has been adjusted to match his natural gate he can forget all about it I mean as I’m walking right now other than a little bit of sound that I hear I wouldn’t really be paying attention to my foot mhm just be moving along for IEEE Spectrum I’m Eliza Strickland

[00:01] A little less than three years ago, in December of 2011, Jason Garstkiewicz was diagnosed with bone cancer in his lower right leg. About three months later, then as a seventh grader, Garstkiewicz found out that the only way to prevent the spread of the disease, he’d have to have his leg amputated below the knee. Now as a sophomore at Haddonfield High School, Jason’s in his second year in the football program, where he’s a member of the Bulldogs JV team and suits up with the varsity squad as well.

[00:26] Given the circumstances, Garstkiewicz could have easily given up on playing sports. But instead, he was determined to return to playing both football and lacrosse as a return to normalcy. I played sports my whole life. I started football when I was five, and I played all the way up until my surgery. And it was just kind of something that I wanted to do to get back to what life was before everything. So I just thought it was kind of a good segue back to getting there because I love the sport, and it’s awesome being part of this team.

[00:56] But getting back wasn’t easy. It was a lot of physical therapy and regaining strength and my stamina back. That was the biggest part. And completely learning how to walk. There’s machines and everything to help. I had a great physical therapist that really helped me get back.

[01:13] For football, the hardest part is getting hit and getting in all the funny different positions that getting tackled causes you to. And for lacrosse, it’s all the lateral movement, going side to side, the stop and the starting. But I feel like I’ve adjusted pretty well to that. I picked it up quickly. And I think definitely playing lacrosse has helped me get back to walking and doing everything the same way or as close to as I used to. Haddonfield head football coach Frank Delano teaches at the middle school in town. In the

[01:42] in the early stages, he was well aware of the situation that Jason and his family faced. I teach 6th grade math and science. I was around him in the thick of things when he was going through his treatments and watching everything kind of transpire and take place and watching his family. One thing I always thought was just amazing and he always admired him for, as a coach you always want to make an impact on the team.

[02:03] on the kids that you, the kids that you touch, you know, each and every day in their lives. You know, hopefully you can make a positive impression, be a positive role model, someone to look up to, whether it be in my sixth grade math and science class or, you know, on the field. You know,

[02:17] However, we’re not too proud to admit that sometimes the kids have that same result and effect on you. And you’re sitting there, you’re watching him take this state place, and never once did he question, why? Is it me? Why did it happen to me? At least out loud, not publicly, not to anybody. I’m sure maybe at home he did. But you just watch. There was never an excuse. All right, let’s just battle this thing. Let’s just take it on. And when he actually got there as a freshman, and it was like his first summer conditioning workout, and you’re sitting there, you’re watching him just…

[02:46] run up, you know, do all this, you know, running agility drills and everything and never once, you know, there’s never an excuse, you know, something’s wrong. And I wish that someone, you know, even me personally, my own personal life, you don’t sit there and feel sorry for yourself at times when quite frankly, things aren’t as significant and severe as this. And you think of a kid like Jason, you know, hopefully he’s an inspiration, not just the kids in our town, but

[03:08] So, you know, now he’s kind of like, you almost forget about it, which I think is the way he would want it to be. He’s just a high school sophomore that plays football and, you know, on a high school football team, and he competes at a high level. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it. You watch him play, and there’s never an excuse, and it’s just amazing.

[03:27] Jason’s teammates are inspired by what the sophomore tight end and defensive tackle does every day. So even what he was going through and the tough times that he was having, seeing him out here on the field make plays all day long and running up and down doing sprints and beating guys in sprints, and I think seeing his intensity and his will to go 100% every play helped me.

[03:48] guys push their game out to another level and I think that it brought him back into the team and he realized that he really wasn’t out of the game, that he could still do so many outrageously good things and he’s just a great athlete and I think that’s very important. To see what he does, I just, like I ask myself what’s my excuse? It’s not for him, it’s not can I do this, it’s how hard can I do this, what can I do else? Just to see he’s getting his scout team reps in and he wants to get on the field, it just makes me go wow because it’s

[04:17] to see if he doesn’t have an excuse what’s mine. You know, a kid with lesser character, I think, may have flinched in that situation. Well, he still had dreams. He still wanted to be a normal kid, you know, just with a, obviously, with a little bit of an obstacle to overcome. But, you know, we always talk about this football or athletics in general. Does it build character or does it reveal it?

[04:39] Well, I think in this situation, it clearly, it was revealed. You know, you saw the kind of person he was. He had a great support system, you know, at home and outside this community and his mom and dad, his brother were awesome through the whole thing. The community was, so he never flinched. He never flinched. And I think that’s going to be a lesson. It’s going to carry not just him, but all of us throughout. So he just wants to be a normal kid, you know, a normal high school kid that wanted to play sports and not lose that dream. And it’s amazing, you know, the power of a dream and power of being behind a great support group, you know, and,

[05:08] And, you know, again, a kid with a lesser character may have flinched, but not Jason. The support Jason and his family got from his friends, the community, and the athletic program helped him stay positive.

[05:18] I think it was like my friends. I wanted to get back out and hang out with them and do what they do again. And just they would give me support through everything. So they would like want to like, oh, when are you going to be back out playing there? I was like, man, I want to get back out with them. They were visiting me in the hospital. They were home. They were at my house when I was home. And just all the generosity that people dropping dinners off, donating money, coming to visit me, sending cards, just everything like made me just a better person, like made me happier.

[05:45] and maybe look at the challenge a little differently, saying that I have a different team kind of behind me than a normal sports team. Here, in the early going of the 2014 season, Jason has proven to be an up-and-coming part of the program and has seen varsity playing time in two of the team’s three games this season, all Haddonfield wins.

[06:03] He expects to contribute in a big way for the rest of his high school career and his coach wouldn’t have it any other way. You watch him in practice during the week, he’s competing for a job. You know, and that’s where I think our kids are like, wait a second, we’re both competing for the same thing at this point. Although, listen, I love you, brother. You’re like a brother. You’re part of our family.

[06:20] I want to play, you know? So I think ultimately, you know, I think that’s when Jason finally was like, I I’m good. You know, people aren’t looking at me like I, you know, I’m someone with, I have a little obstacle to overcome or a big obstacle. You know, I’m, I’m a high school sophomore and it’s competing for a job. Then you watch him in scrimmages and, you know, in JV games right now, you know,

[06:40] he’s really good. You know, like it’s not like one of these stories, you know, that you’re sitting there making things up for him and creating situations and scenarios. This is a young man that can play the game and his will and his heart are just, well, you can’t measure that, you know, and that’s what, he’s got a heart of a champion and, you know, he’s just an amazing, amazing person. But it is, it’s been funny to watch the dynamics sort of a practice when, you know, he’s just a number 87 tight end D and D tackle rather than

[07:07] the place for Haddonfield football rather than Jason. Wasn’t that the kid in middle school who had a life-altering change? It was pretty cool to watch that happen. Reporting from Haddonfield for South Jersey Sports Digest, I’m Mike Shute.