Lancaster County native Hugh Herr, already the owner of numerous patents, has made national news with his invention of the world's first robotic ankle.
Herr, a professor and researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, unveiled the device in May and was featured on an "NBC Nightly News" segment last month.
The motorized ankle-foot is groundbreaking because it allows the user to simulate normal walking because of its unique design.
In 1982, when he was just 17, Herr lost both legs below the knee after being trapped in a blizzard for three days while climbing New Hampshire's Mount Washington.
A graduate of Penn Manor High School, Herr went on to earn a bachelor's degree in physics from Millersville University, a master's in mechanical engineering from MIT, and a doctorate in biophysics from Harvard University.
Herr and his biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab developed the artificial joint, which is expected to be on the market next summer.
In a phone interview last week, Herr said the ankle-foot prostheses currently available are "completely passive" when the foot's on the ground, producing an unnatural gait and causing the amputee to expend about 30 percent more energy on walking than a nonamputee.
But the robotic, battery-powered ankle-foot he helped design, which is light and flexible, is "more transportational" and "can somewhat simulate healthy ankle function," he said.
The ankle-foot adjusts the level of energy to accommodate what the wearer is doing, Herr said.
For instance, the prosthesis will propel the person forward, using tendon-like springs and the battery-powered motor, and vary its stiffness over irregular terrain just like a normal ankle does.
So, for the first time, amputees can walk with a normal gait.
Herr said it took about three years to develop the joint, and the core technology behind it was at least a decade in the making.
The Cambridge, Mass., company iWalk will make the device commercially available under the name PowerFoot One.
The prosthesis was first demonstrated to the public May 9, when Herr wore it onstage during a symposium at MIT.
July 23 it got a broader introduction at the Providence (R.I.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as 24-year-old Iraq War veteran Garth Stewart showed it off to the media. Stewart, who lost the lower part of his left leg in an explosion, worked closely with Herr and the biomechatronics group for several months.
"This design releases three times the power of a conventional prosthesis," Herr said when the joint debuted. "It's wild, like you're on one of those moving walkways in the airport."
Herr created the prosthesis — partially funded through a five-year, $7.2 million grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs — through the Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine, a collaborative effort of the Providence VA Medical Center, Brown University and MIT.
In addition to being director of the biomechatronics research group at MIT, he is a research investigator for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A biography of Herr on the MIT Web site said his research on "biohybrid" prostheses is "accelerating the merging of body and machine, improving the lives of amputees and other physically challenged individuals ... ."
Among his many other inventions are elastic shoes that increase aerobic endurance in walking and running. In the rehabilitation field, his group has developed prostheses for amputees who've lost their legs above the knee, and devices for patients suffering from drop foot, a condition that can result from stroke, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.
He also was just named a recipient of a $250,000 Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment, which will be presented next month in Pittsburgh.
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
