Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 10-6
Bigg and Grossmith
limbs on display at
the Great
International
Exhibition at St.
Thomas's Hospital in
1862. (Courtesy of
Best Foot Forward,
with permission.)
attachment methods. One good example that occurred in 1812 was the development of a
prosthetic arm that could be controlled by the opposite shoulder with connecting straps.
By the 1840s, with the introduction of gaseous anesthetic, doctors could perform more
meticulous amputation surgeries, allowing them to operate on the limb stump in such a
way as to prepare it for interfacing to a prosthesis.
During the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), the number of amputations rose
astronomically, forcing the United States to enter the field of prosthetics. James Hanger,
one of the first amputees of the civil war, developed the “Hanger Limb” carved from barrel
staves. In his prosthesis, the catgut tendons commonly used at that time were replaced
with rubber bumpers to control plantar and dorsiflection. He and other inventors such as
Selpho, Palmer, and Marks helped advance the prosthetics field with other refinements in
the mechanisms and materials of the devices.
A good example of the range of artificial legs available at this time can be seen in
Figure 10-6, which shows the merchandise produced by Bigg and Grossmith on display
at the Great International Exhibition of 1862 (Phillips, 1990).
Prosthetic legs of this type were very heavy as they were made primarily from wood,
steel, and leather, so in 1868 Gustav Hermann suggested the use of aluminium instead of
steel to make artificial limbs lighter and more functional. However, the lighter device did
not become a reality until 1912 when Marcel Desoutter, a famous English aviator, lost his
leg in an airplane accident and made the first aluminium prosthesis with the help of his
brother Charles, an engineer.
It is interesting to note that WWI did not engender much technical advancement in
the prosthetics field for some reason. However, the surgeon general of the army at the
time did at least realize the importance of technology for development of prostheses, and
this eventually led to the formation of the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association
(AOPA).
Following WWII, veterans were dissatisfied with the lack of technology in their
devices, which had hardly changed in a century, and they demanded improvement. This
