{"id":38729,"date":"2016-05-27T23:38:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/the-prosthetic-foot-that-lets-women-wear-everything-from-sneakers-to-heels\/"},"modified":"2016-05-27T23:38:53","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T23:38:53","slug":"the-prosthetic-foot-that-lets-women-wear-everything-from-sneakers-to-heels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/news\/the-prosthetic-foot-that-lets-women-wear-everything-from-sneakers-to-heels\/","title":{"rendered":"The prosthetic foot that lets women wear everything from sneakers to heels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prosthetic feet come in all sizes, but a majority of them are built for sneakers or flat soled shoes.<\/p>\n

Now, a group of researchers have developed a new model that not only helps women adjust to life without a limb, but also accommodates fashion footwear.<\/p>\n

Called \u2018Prominence\u2019, this prosthetic foot is designed with an adjustable ankle that supports up to 250lbs and adapts to heels up to four inches high.<\/p>\n

\"Called<\/p>\n

Called \u2018Prominence\u2019, this prosthetic foot is designed with an adjustable ankle that supports up to 250lbs and adapts to heels up to four inches high. \u00a0It weighs less than three pounds and uses a heel adjustment mechanism with two interlocking aluminium disks \u2013 and was tested with 5-in stilettos\u00a0<\/p>\n

HOW WAS THE FOOT PROSTHETIC MADE?\u00a0<\/span> <\/h3>\n

The team aimed to create a foot that adjusts without a separate tool to a range of heel heights and holds position without slipping.<\/p>\n

In addition, other factors such as it needed to support up to 250 pounds, weigh less than three pounds and is slender enough to fit a women\u2019s show properly were taken into account.<\/p>\n

After a few failed attempts, some of which involved a mousetrap spring and slender titanium plates, the team found aluminium disks was the key to perfecting their vision.<\/p>\n

They built a heel-adjustment with two interlocking aluminium disks that opens and closes with an attached lever at the ankle.<\/p>\n

And for the ankle, an off-the-shelf hydraulic unit that enables a smooth gait and flexing at the sole was developed.<\/p>\n

Most of the available prosthetic feet are built to fit men\u2019s shoes and none have been shown to adjust to a heel that is more than two inches high \u2013 this is less than the average women\u2019s heel height in the US.<\/p>\n

Prominence was developed by students at Johns Hopkins University as a senior project in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n

In making the product, they took took into account that more than 2,100 women in the US military who have lost a leg or foot.<\/p>\n

\u2018High heels have become an integral part of the female lifestyle in modern society, permeating through all aspects of life \u2013 professional and social,\u2019 the five students who graduated earlier this month from the university\u2019s Whiting School of Engineering wrote in their final project report.<\/p>\n

\u2018For female veterans of the U.S. armed services with lower limb amputations, that seemingly innocuous, but so pervasive, and decidedly feminine part of their lives is gone.\u2019<\/p>\n

The team aimed to create a foot that adjusts without a separate tool to a range of heel heights and holds its position without slipping.<\/p>\n

They also wanted it to support up to 250lbs, weigh less than three pounds and is slender enough to fit a women\u2019s shoe correctly..<\/p>\n