He is known for the Flex-Foot brand of artificial foot and limbs that he created,[2] and for his charity work for amputees.[3] An amputee himself, having lost a leg below the knee at age 21, Phillips was motivated by the limitations of then-existing artificial limbs to attend the Northwestern University Medical School Prosthetic-Orthotic Center. After graduation, he worked as a biomedical design engineer at the University of Utah[2] before starting his own company, Flex-Foot Incorporated in 1984.
Phillips ultimately created a workable artificial foot made from carbon graphite. Unlike all previous prostheses,[citation needed] it stored kinetic energy from the wearer's steps as potential energy, like a spring, allowing the wearer to run and jump. A prosthetic foot that he created, the Flex-Foot Cheetah, is used by double-amputee and Paralympics gold-medalist Oscar Pistorius, and about 90 percent of Paralympics participants use a variation of the original Flex-Foot design, as well as thousands of people around the world.[2] Phillips sold Flex-Foot to Össur in 2000, which continues to manufacture the artificial foot.[3][4]
In 1999 he established Second Wind, a non-profit organization to provide inexpensive and resistant prostheses to amputees around the world, and is now working to create a prosthetic leg for land mine victims in developing countries.[3] In 1998 he received the Brian Blatchford Memorial Prize from the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics.[3]
phillips, inventor, phillips, born, 1954, american, inventor, prosthetics, contents, biography, also, references, external, linksbiography, edithe, known, flex, foot, brand, artificial, foot, limbs, that, created, charity, work, amputees, amputee, himself, hav. Van Phillips born 1954 is an American 1 inventor of prosthetics Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksBiography editHe is known for the Flex Foot brand of artificial foot and limbs that he created 2 and for his charity work for amputees 3 An amputee himself having lost a leg below the knee at age 21 Phillips was motivated by the limitations of then existing artificial limbs to attend the Northwestern University Medical School Prosthetic Orthotic Center After graduation he worked as a biomedical design engineer at the University of Utah 2 before starting his own company Flex Foot Incorporated in 1984 Phillips ultimately created a workable artificial foot made from carbon graphite Unlike all previous prostheses citation needed it stored kinetic energy from the wearer s steps as potential energy like a spring allowing the wearer to run and jump A prosthetic foot that he created the Flex Foot Cheetah is used by double amputee and Paralympics gold medalist Oscar Pistorius and about 90 percent of Paralympics participants use a variation of the original Flex Foot design as well as thousands of people around the world 2 Phillips sold Flex Foot to Ossur in 2000 which continues to manufacture the artificial foot 3 4 In 1999 he established Second Wind a non profit organization to provide inexpensive and resistant prostheses to amputees around the world and is now working to create a prosthetic leg for land mine victims in developing countries 3 In 1998 he received the Brian Blatchford Memorial Prize from the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics 3 See also editOssur ProstheticsReferences edit Runaway Success European Patent Office Retrieved 2015 02 12 a b c Inventor of the Week January 2007 Van Phillips Lemelson MIT program Archived from the original on 2007 07 14 Retrieved 2008 07 02 a b c d Martha Davidson Artificial Parts Van Phillips Smithsonian Institution Retrieved 2008 07 02 Pogash Carol 2008 07 02 A Personal Call to a Prosthetic Invention New York Times Retrieved 2008 07 02 External links editVan Phillips page at ossur com 2011 Video of Van Phillips giving a presentation on inventing his prosthetics nbsp This article about an American inventor is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Van Phillips inventor amp oldid 1138485141, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
