November 7, 2006 (ALISO VIEJO, CA) -- Ossur (ICEX: OSSR) – the Iceland-based developer and supplier of orthopedic devices – has launched more scientifically advanced prosthetic innovations than any other company in the field. For the second consecutive year, Popular Science magazine has recognized this forward-thinking by presenting Ossur with its Best of What's New in Personal Health award for the PROPRIO FOOTTM. In 2005, the company won with its POWER KNEETM. Both are part of Ossur's new and ground-breaking Bionics Technology platform and family of products.
The PROPRIO FOOTTM is the world's first motor-powered and intelligent prosthetic foot that thinks for itself. The PROPRIO FOOTTM, like the POWER KNEETM, replaces muscle function that was lost due to an amputation. The foot enables amputees to perform activites in a normal and functional pattern by:
- Sensing. Knowing where their foot is in space is a huge safety issue for amputees. Sophisticated sensor technology mimics the body's own neural receptors that are sensitive to mechanical change, providing artificial proprioception (that sense of where the limb is in space). Hence the name PROPRIO FOOTTM.
- Thinking. Patent-pending artificial intelligence (AI) processes information from the sensors and activates the most appropriate response for the next step.
- Acting. The AI transmits a constant stream of signals which instruct high-precision actuator technology to act and deliver optimal function.
Each year, Popular Science reviews thousands of new products and innovations and chooses only 100 winners for 10 different categories. Among the judging criteria are: the significance of the innovation; the quality of the design and the finished product; the originality of thought; and the ambition and scope of the project. The winners -- the Best of What's New -- are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. The 2006 issue is on sale November 14.
"Best of What's New is the ultimate Popular Science accolade, representing a year's worth of work evaluating thousands of products," says Mark Jannot, editor of Popular Science. "These awards honor innovations that no only influence the way we live today, but that change the way we think about the future." Ossur's Bionic Technology platform falls right in line with this thinking as it represents a quantum leap forward in lower limb prostheses, and a look at technologies in development reveals osseointegration, the science of implanting man-made, load bearing anchoring mechanisms directly into the living bone; and neurosensing, when a prosthetic device is connected to the human neurological system enabling the user to regain voluntary control over the prosthesis at a thinking level.
"We are proud that the PROPRIO FOOTTM was developed entirely in-house by Ossur's industry-leading R&D department," says Eythor Bender, president of Ossur Americas. "It's a seamless fusion of electronics, mechanics, and human physiology that reduces the energy that patients spend in reacting consciously to the environment." Expertise in real-time motion analysis for the foot was provided by Canadian company, Dynastream.
Prosthetists and users alike have been generous in their praise of the PROPRIO FOOTTM. The Department of Defense and the VA are both actively using the prosthesis to benefit servicemen injured in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as veterans from past conflicts.
OSSUR
Ossur (Icelandic Stock Exchange: OSSR) is as much about helping people to live a life without limitations as it is about its orthopaedic products. A trusted and global leader in the development, manufacturing, distribution, sales and marketing of bracing and support products and prosthetics, Ossur pioneers award-winning designs – including its Bionic Technology platform – and partners with the health practitioners who use them to deliver successful clinical and business outcomes. Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, the company has operations and a distribution network throughout the world. The company allocates an industry record of 6-8 percent of its revenue on research and development to conceive and harness the most advanced technologies for incorporation in its product designs, and provides extensive education programs through the Ossur Academy. Ossur is a 2006 World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Website: www.ossur.com
About Popular Science
Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world's largest science and technology magazine; with a circulation of 1.45 million and 6.5 million monthly readers. Each month, Popular Science reports on the intersection of science and everyday life, with an eye toward what's new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by Time4 Media, a subsidiary of Time Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Website: www.popsi.com.
Contact:
Ossur Americas Marketing:
Tabi King
Tel: (949) 360-3756
tking@ossur.com
Popular Science magazine:
Kendra Romagnola
Publicity Manager, Time4 Media
212.779.5172
kendra.romagnola@time4.com