July 18, 2007 12:37 PM PDT
Zarling talks up the features of the microprocessor-powered C-Leg as Army Specialist Charles Parker looks on. Otto Bock HealthCare began working on the upgrade last year when it won a three-year, $1 million contract from the Army. One of the goals of the project is to provide amputee-soldiers with technology that will let them stay on active duty if they choose.
The redesign work is also geared toward stretching the system's battery life to 50 hours on a single charge--long enough to let soldiers handle long road marches in between rechargings--and toward making the high-tech prosthesis salt-water resistant, according to the American Forces Press Service.
Photo by Fred W. Baker III
