Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
the decision just in time for the Beijing Games (Fig.
9.4
). Unfortunately, the
athlete known as Blade Runner fell seven-tenths of a second short of the
Olympic qualifying time in the 400 m.” [
10
](Table
9.2
)
Should Oscar Pistorius be allowed to compete with able-bodied athletes?
Fig. 9.4
Responses for Question 5
Table 9.2: Participant reasons generated by Question 5
Score
Reason
239 (23.0/76)
No
because with prosthetics, the biomechanics of sprinting are significantly
different than without prosthetics. A 400 m with prosthetics is a different
sport than a 400 m without.
119 (13.0/76)
No
because although I'm sympathetic to Pistorius' goals, there's no prin-
cipled way to draw a line between Pistorius' blades and other assistive
devices that would clearly give an unfair advantage.
113 (12.3/76)
Neutral
because it is not clear whether Pistorius' prothesis is an “external
device or piece of equipment” like a spring loaded shoe or whether it is an
integral part of his body. Would an athlete with an artificial internal hip
or knee joint be restricted from participating? Is it because the prosthesis
is external and visible that we are considering discriminating against Pis-
torius? Wouldn't we want the most current technology in an internal knee
joint for an athlete? Why not in an external prosthesis also? Or, do we
view the prosthesis as we would a wheelchair which is a clear advantage
for some running events over natural runners, i.e., it is an external device
that is not part of the person? This is the reason given above for a Yes
answer (acook), but its indeterminacy really supports a neutral stance.
−
23 (9.0/76)
Yes
because there is as yet no evidence that the prosthetics give him an
unfair advantage. This is obviously a grey area - few would argue that
he shouldn't be allowed to compete with no prosthetic at all, but most
argue that he shouldn't be allowed to compete if his prosthetics were fuel-
powered. A fully passive prosthetic is roughly equivalent to the introduction
of the clap skate in speed skating - some skaters were faster with the
clap skate than the conventional, but the top athletes were initially faster
with the conventional skate. It would be very dicult to design a passive
prosthetic which would confer any significant advantage over an intact
athlete.
(continued)
