Reader response draft #1

Prosthetic leg (Ottobock)

The webpage “running prostheses” from Ottobock introduces the Ottobock 1E91 Runner prosthetic and distinguishes between its functions and features, each serving a unique purpose (Ottobock, n.d.a). 

In terms of functions, the Runner is designed for athletic performance, enabling amputees to participate in both casual jogging and competitive sports, including sprinting and long-distance running. It is built to store energy with each stride and release it efficiently for forward propulsion, optimizing both speed and endurance. Additionally, the prosthetic offers customizability, allowing adjustments tailored to the individual user’s needs based on their body type and running style (Ottobock, n.d.b).

Regarding its features, the Runner incorporates a carbon-fiber spring that provides high flexibility and energy return, boosting propulsion during running. Its lightweight design reduces the energy required for movement, making each stride more efficient. Furthermore, the prosthetic offers five degrees of freedom, enabling multi-axis movement for greater agility and more natural mobility (Ottobock, n.d.c).

Although the Ottobock prosthetic leg has high performance and customizabilty, it is a resource-intensive product as the user has to invest lots of time and money to ensure the prosthetic is in good condition.

In terms of cost, the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for Ottobock's 1E91 is US$6,662.00 (Ottobock, n.d). Note that 1E91 only consists of the carbon plate with a maximum lifetime of only three years for recreational runs and one year for competitive runs. The corresponding adapter and parts would have to be ordered separately, with an estimated cost of the parts and annual maintenance being US$9,574 and US$1,936 (Biddiss et al., 2011). The cost will certainly be an influential factor when deciding whether to adopt prosthesis use.

Running prosthetic legs are designed to be used during sports, therefore, users would have to often spend time switching between their daily use prosthetics and running prosthetics, which may be inconvenient. According to the "instruction for use" manual for Ottocbock's 1E91 (n.d.d), users are required to arrange regular maintenance and conduct annual safety inspections, causing them to travel to the service centre or clinic frequently. Therefore, users are expected to plan their schedules to ensure they have time to travel to their respective centres for checks and to switch between their prosthetics.

While the Ottobock prosthetic leg is resource-intensive, I believe that amputees who want to run; compete in sports; to do something they once enjoyed, will not mind the hassle of travelling to places as well as the cost to ensure their prosthetic leg is in its best condition. As quoted by Johannes Floors (German Paralympic sprinter), “You have to imagine, I wasn’t able to run properly for 16 years. Then there is someone giving you the opportunity to run; to feel wind and to feel speed. This is what I never want to lose” (International Paralympic Committee, 2018). The amputees will not just be buying a prosthetic. They are buying the experience. And of course, they are buying quality as well since it is designed for performance and customizability with its modular parts.

References:

Runner 1E91 - ottobock. (n.d.-a). https://media.ottobock.com/_web-site/prosthetics/lower-limb/running_system_3s80/files/pb-1e91_en.pdf

Ottobock Running Prostheses, Inland Empire Region (n.d.b). https://www.ottobock.com/en-ie/prosthetics/running-prostheses 

Ottobock Running Prostheses, United States Region (n.d.c). https://www.ottobock.com/en-us/prosthetics/running-prosthetics 

Ottobock 1E91 Runner, United States (n.d.d). https://shop.ottobock.us/Prosthetics/Lower-Limb-Prosthetics/Fitness-Prosthetics/1E91-Runner/p/1E91#product-documents-section

How I got into Para Athletics: Johannes Floors. International Paralympic Committee. (2018, July 13). https://www.paralympic.org/news/how-i-got-para-athletics-johannes-floors

Biddiss, E., McKeever, P., Lindsay, S., & Chau, T. (2011). Implications of prosthesis funding structures on the use of prostheses. Prosthetics & Orthotics International, 35(2), 215–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364611401776 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-introduction letter to Professor Blackstone

Dear Professor Blackstone, I am Ong Yuan Xu, a year 1 mechanical engineering student in your Critical Thinking and Communication module. This email is to introduce myself, my educational background, my communication strengths and weaknesses, and my goals in this module. Before I pursued a degree in mechanical engineering in Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), I completed a diploma in food science and technology with a certificate in business at Singapore Polytechnic (SP). My diverse educational background sets me apart from my peers, most of whom have a traditional engineering background. During my diploma, one notable module was Instrumental Analysis, where I had to conduct quantitative and qualitative tests on food samples using different instruments. Besides the tests, I had to understand how these instruments obtain the results, which was when I had the opportunity to understand how a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer works; the components, and the principle behind it. T...
Read more

Summary draft and thesis

Prosthetic leg (Ottobock) The webpage “running prostheses” from Ottobock introduces the Ottobock 1E91 Runner prosthetic distinguishes between its functions and features, each serving a unique purpose.  In terms of functions, the Runner is designed for athletic performance, enabling amputees to participate in both casual jogging and competitive sports, including sprinting and long-distance running. It is built to store energy with each stride and release it efficiently for forward propulsion, optimizing both speed and endurance. Additionally, the prosthetic offers customizability, allowing adjustments tailored to the individual user’s needs based on their body type and running style (Ottobock, n.d.a). Regarding its features, the Runner incorporates a carbon-fiber spring that provides high flexibility and energy return, boosting propulsion during running. Its lightweight design reduces the energy required for movement, making each stride more efficient. Furthermore, the prosthetic of...
Read more

Interpretation of quote

Quote: "Without clear lines of communication, our ideas would stay within our own small development teams instead of becoming mature products. While this is obvious to those of us who have become experienced engineers, the real question is: why is it lost to us when we are engineering students?” Akbar R Khan, Software Systems Engineer, USA, "Good Communication Is Essential..." (2014) My interpretation: Without clear lines of communication, your teammates within your team might not understand your ideas, what you want. This might lead to miscommunication, causing the team to progress in the wrong direction. Besides communication within the team, investors/consumers might not understand your product as well, leading to them being uninterested in the product and losing its opportunity to become a mature product.  This is lost to us when we are engineering students as we are only taught about engineering, how to solve certain problems, and working towards a certain objective...
Read more