April 9, 2007 (Aliso Viejo, CA) -- Ossur, a trusted and global developer of more scientifically advanced prosthetic innovations than any other company in the field, is pleased to announce that its PROPRIO FOOT is the winner of a 2007 Medical Design Excellence Award. The PROPRIO FOOT, the latest in Ossurs Bionic Technology platform, is the worlds first motor-powered and intelligent prosthetic foot, a seamless fusion of electronics, mechanics, and human physiology that reduces the energy patients spend in reacting consciously to the environment. The foot replaces muscle function that was lost due to an amputation, enabling amputees to perform normal, functional activites by:

• Sensing. Knowing where their foot is in space is a huge safety issue for amputees. Sophisticated sensor technology mimics the bodys own neural receptors that are sensitive to mechanical change, providing artificial proprioception (that sense of where the limb is in space). Hence the name PROPRIO FOOT.
• Thinking. Patented artificial intelligence (AI) processes information from the sensors and activates the most appropriate response for the next step.
• Acting. The AI transmits a constant stream of signals which instruct high-precision actuator technology to act and deliver optimal function. Expertise in real-time motion analysis for the foot was provided by Canadian company, Dynastream.

The Medical Design Excellence Awards competition is organized and presented by Canon Communications LLC (Los Angeles) and is the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product developmen
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Contact: Beverly Millson
beverly@missingsock.com
310-399-7599
Ossur
10-Apr-2007