Freedom Innovations announced that the company will commercialize and finalize the development of the first fully powered prosthetic leg technology with a neurological control system.
The first generation of the Freedom Powered Knee and Ankle System will use a mechanical control system to mimic the power and gait characteristics of the human leg and feature microelectric technology, which allows communication between the user and the prosthesis. Through partnerships with the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC), Freedom Innovations is working on making the motorized devices smaller and quieter, according to a company press release. Researchers at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Intelligent Mechatronics studied and measured the brain-driven steering capabilities of the device and found a reduced rate of errors, including risk of falls.
“The positive results of this study are an important milestone for Freedom Innovations,” Maynard Carkuff, president and CEO of Freedom Innovations, stated in the release. “We will be able to provide amputees with functional limbs they can control that will be even more user-friendly, smaller, quieter and more mobile than the prototypes used in the RIC study.”
