Imagining a bionic future

Imagining a bionic future

Prosthetics advanceResearch has yielded innovations such as thought-controlled arms and

Tues., Nov. 27, 2007

When Paul Selmer lost his right leg below the knee in a hunting accident, a doctor fitted him with a standard prosthesis that required a waist belt to swing the wooden foot with each step. Selmer remembers it feeling like a “sandbag.” ...

In February 2006 the Defense Research Advancement Projects Agency, or DARPA, committed close to $50 million to the improvement of prosthetic limbs. At the time, 387 soldiers had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan as amputees. As of October 2007, that number reached 751.

Iraq Amputee Relearns Golf Swing

Iraq Amputee Relearns Golf Swing

Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007 - 02:08 PM
By The Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The first time Joey Bozik picked up a golf club after his accident, the ball bounced a mere 20 yards.Discuss This Story

"I was just demoralized," Bozik said. "I thought, 'How am I ever going to play golf again?"'


Joey Bozik

Bionics

Bionics?

New prosthetic knee joints vastly improve mobility of amputeesBy Brian Livingston
The space-age looking knee may look like something out of the Bionic Man television show but the truth is you won’t be able to leap tall buildings with it. You will, however, be able to walk with much more stability and confidence. That in itself is a major improvement for many amputees who are seeking unparalleled reliability.

Another step forward

Another step forward
U.S. Marine Chris Hahn lost a leg, but not his spirit. Now he’s ready to take a big leap back into public service
By Sarah BultemaThe Reporter-

Herald At 23 years old, Loveland’s Chris Hahn has been through a lot. In just the last three years the Thompson Valley High School graduate has become a Marine, an amputee, a veteran and a husband.

Chris Hahn

Iraq veteran healthcare could top $650b

Iraq veteran healthcare could top $650b
Doctors group warns possible crisis looming
By Bryan Bender
Globe Staff / November 9, 2007

WASHINGTON - A group of noted physicians predicted yesterday that healthcare for Iraq veterans could top $650 billion, another warning of a looming social crisis as thousands of veterans struggle with mental and physical disabilities and other disruptions to family life.
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The study by Physicians for Social Responsibility, titled "Shock and Awe Hits Home," marked the first attempt to isolate the financial costs of "the wide-ranging traumatic mental and social effects of the Iraq war."...

Since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, at least 60,000 US service members have been wounded or become mentally ill from their battlefield experiences.
Due to advances in body armor and battlefield medicine, the ratio of wounded to killed is 8 to 1, compared with 3 to 1 during the Vietnam War and 2 to 1 for World War II. The percentage of amputees is the highest since the Civil War.

President Visits Injured Veterans

President Visits Injured Veterans
By DEB RIECHMANN – Nov 8, 2007
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — President Bush paid an emotional visit Thursday to soldiers maimed or badly burned in combat and said his administration is determined to mend the nation's system of caring for veterans.
Medical advances provide troops with treatment unimaginable just a decade ago, but the system for managing that care has lagged, Bush said.
"Our system needs to be modernized," the president said after touring a new $45 million, privately funded rehabilitation center for veterans at Brooke Army Medical Center.
"We have an outdated system that can bog down some of those recovering in a maze of bureaucracy and that's what happened at Walter Reed," he said, referring to the Army medical center in Washington, D.C.

Matt Bradford