Ottobock

Last week we had the amazing opportunity to visit Ottobock, the world's leading innovator in modern prosthetics.  We began the tour with a general overview of the basic mechanics behind prosthetics.  Currently, there is two main types of prosthetics, the mechanical and the electrical.  The mechanical version works by using stress differentials to determine the amount of appropriate resistance to correct the body to achieve the desired motion.  The electrical prosthetic works the same way, except it has a computer that allows for more complex movements by analyzing active stresses at particular points in the prosthetic.  After learning how each of the prosthetics work, we got to listen to an employee who, interestingly enough, was wearing one of the electrical prosthesis models.  After listening to him talk about his device, we walked through the production department of the company and saw how each of the components were mass produced and shipped to their respective destinations.