Seattle Foot prosthetic device introduced in 1985.

  • By David Wilma
  • Posted 1/01/2000
  • HistoryLink.org Essay 2104
See Additional Media

In 1985, the Seattle Foot, a prosthetic device for lower limb amputees, is introduced by Prosthetics Research Study Lab. The revolutionary device can be used while performing extremely vigorous activities such as skiing, rock climbing, running, or heavy weight lifting, all of which were impossible with traditional artificial limbs. The design incorporates an innovative spring called a "monolithic keel" made of Delrin which stores energy when the foot steps down and then releases the energy at the ball of the foot.

In 1988, the DuPont company produced a television ad showing Bill Demby, who had lost both legs below the knee in Vietnam, playing basketball with two Seattle Feet.

The non-profit Prosthetics Research Study Lab drew support from the Veterans Administration (Department of Veterans Affairs) and the University of Washington Department of Kinesiology. The Seattle Foot received a Presidential Design Achievement Award in 1984 and the Governor's Award for New Products in 1990. By 1991, more than 70,000 Seattle feet were in use in the United States. An outreach clinic in Hanoi, Vietnam, produced more than 100 a month for war victims there.


Sources:

Adam Woog, Sexless Oysters and Self-Tipping Hats: 100 Years of Inventions in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1991), 117-120.


Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You