Hugh takes his abilities personally. That's what makes him great. He's not building for a disability. He's building for extraordinary abilities. Started with rock climbing with protheses then to something as subtle as how an old walking prosthesis would drop the foot on lift. He's an inspiration. Taking a horrible accident and making many lives better and for many generations.
Watching Adrianne dance brought tears to my eyes. I play wheelchair basketball and know many amputees who deal with fairly primitive prosthetics; I can only hope that further development and funding makes this technology available to everyone.
Yeah, me too. I remember the feelings I had right after the bombing and seeing some interviews with her. I was really struck by the feeling that "she'll never dance again" and how sad that made me.
Watching this felt like a little piece of joy just lit the world up again.
Ahem... so my SO had a below the knee amputation a couple years ago. And the reality is that most insurance plans will NOT pay for an electrically powered leg of any sort. We fought hard this year to get her one with a "full motion" mechanical ankle. My point is that the technology is great, but if only the builders can afford it...
One other issue with these, as you can imagine, is battery life. We talked about paying out of pocket for the upgrade, but were told that the best batteries only last about 4 hours. You think your battery going dead and leaving you unable to make a phone call is bad?
Only the builders can afford it today. There was a time when only the government and big business had computers, now we all have computers in our pockets that dwarf those computers by orders of magnitude.
Yes, it's unfortunate that not everyone can have one of these, but instead of lamenting the builders, you should be supporting them, because it's through the work of many builders working many hours that the technology progresses and becomes cheaper.
Not only does technological progress create better limbs, but it also drives down the limbs that were previously state of the art. A $50k prosthetic leg that a person desires today and that will make them happier might only cost $5k in 5 years because a far better leg (which may only affordable to the builders) is available meaning that manufacturers of the leg that previously cost $50k needs to drop their prices in order to maintain competitive.
Also, if battery life is such an issue, I would imagine that you carry around spare batteries. My garmin cycle computer only lasts about 4-5 hours if I'm lucky with all sensors on and my phone is usually dead at hour 8, so on 13.5 hour and longer rides I carry around a 12000mAh USB battery pack so I'm not left without GPS or the ability to contact people if necessary when way out in the middle of nowhere. If you know the limitations of technology you use, then you plan for it.
Yes, there are always better things out there and inconveniences, but things are getting better all the time. There is no need to be dismissive when someone like this guy is building truly amazing technology that is bettering the lives of 1000 people today and will probably better the lives of 100k people in a few years time.
That being said, I understand the frustration with trying to fight insurance companies for something that will better the life of someone you care about. Two years ago, I spent many many many hours fighting my mom's insurance company to get her a microsphere radio-embolism treatment for liver cancer that would have given her a much better quality of life than she has today and possibly alive for years to come. I wish insurance companies paid for more than they do, but it's also impossible for insurance companies to pay for everyone to have the best possible solution to their malady.
Hugh has been an inspiration to climbers (including myself) for years. He'd disappeared from my personal radar for a few years, and it's great to see that he's still doing amazing things.
He seems to personify determination. I still think the joint first ascents of "Vandals" in the Shawangunks [1] (which included Hugh) are one of the milestones of recent climbing history.
I just gave a youtube video a standing ovation. This is indeed one of the best things ever, and I hope parents introduce him to their kids as one of the oh-so-scarce true modern real-life heroes.
I also would like to ask, if any HNers know, if one would like to study bionics development, where should one go? Is there any university/career that focus on this?
I got to see Hugh give a talk (and demo) in person, probably at a Freescale conference a while back. He's a great speaker and an inspiration. They are really pushing the envelope. Great stuff.
