Bluetooth Helps Double Amputee to Walk Again
Posted by thenewsconduit on February 1, 2008
Our Medical Technology correspondent reports:
The new trend in wheelchair bumper-bars
Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill was an ordinary solider in Iraq, until he lost both his legs above the knees in an explosion on 15th October, 2006. But with the aid of Bluetooth (a short-range wireless technology commonly used for purposes such as connecting ear pieces to mobile phones) he is slowly starting to learn to walk again. Using the Bluetooth technology, the two artificial legs communicate with each other from devices strapped to the ankles of each. The legs mimic each other to more readily adapt to various challenges such as stairs and hills. The technology is still in its infancy, however.
“I can walk without canes, but it’s not real pretty,” Bleill said.
In an exclusive for The News Conduit, we asked Bleill how well his new legs have integrated into his life:
“Oh, they’re great. It means less time in the wheelchair for me, although my girlfriend and I always keep one close by. I’ve found that when I walk near something like a microwave or radio station the legs often stop responding, or do unexpected things.”
When pressed further as to what these “unexpected things” were, Bleill refused to comment. Our resident mad-scientist, however, pointed us to this, Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, a popular television show that details a possible scenario.
With such great strides being taken in prosthetic technology, the question on everyone’s mind is: Why do prosthetic legs need to wear shoes?
[Via CNN]
