Orthocare Innovations Launches New Device to Improve the Fit and Function of Lower Limb Prosthetic Devices

OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Orthocare Innovations, a developer and manufacturer of advanced prosthetic devices, has launched into the U.S. market the Edison™ Adaptive Vacuum Suspension System, a novel approach to enhancing the comfort, fit and function of lower limb prosthetic devices. 

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120222/DA57721)

Elevated vacuum has been used for a number of years to assist in attaching prosthetic devices to the human body.  Whereas traditional systems maintain constant, high pressures, or require manual adjustment by the patient to change pressure levels, Edison™ automatically adjusts the elevated vacuum to the user's functional needs.  After turning Edison™ on each morning, patients go about their day feeling the benefits of elevated vacuum, but without hearing the pump or needing to adjust the unit.  There is no need for the user to manually make a change that will have to be adjusted again a few minutes later, as activity changes again.

"Edison™ represents the next step in Orthocare Innovations' advances in adaptive prosthetics systems," commented Orthocare Chief Executive Officer Doug McCormack.  "We looked hard at the drawbacks of existing elevated vacuum suspension systems, and identified two key areas for improvement: noise reduction, and automatic suspension adjustment across a full range of functional activities.  Edison™ represents a significant improvement over existing products in this emerging product category by addressing these limitations of competitive products."

Orthocare intends for these features to make Edison™ applicable segments of the market that may not previously have benefitted from elevated vacuum.  Patients with diabetes or peripheral vascular disease, for example, may not tolerate constant, high levels of vacuum of traditional products of this type.

Orthocare initially conducted early work on Edison™ under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Revolutionizing Prosthetics program under contract with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.  Edison™ is an Orthocare Innovations patented technology (US 8,007,543). Edison™ also incorporates technologies that are under license from Ohio Willow Wood Company (US 7,914,586, US 7,947,085, and US 8,016,892).

For more information, please visit orthocareinnovations.com

SOURCE Orthocare Innovations