Butler Tech students develop modification for prosthetic leg

Three students from Butler Tech recently worked together to create an attachment for the prosthetic leg used by one of their instructors. Amane Ohhashi, Taylor Blackburn, and Jonah Dangel noticed that their English teacher Kendra Herber's new prosthetic leg did not allow her to wear sandals or flats without causing issues with gait and hip misalignment. The three banded together to define the issue, brainstorm solution concepts, and build a test prototype.

Ohhashi, Blackburn, and Dangel are freshmen enrolled in the Introduction to Engineering Design class and were inspired by the skills they are learning to try and find a practical solution for a real world problem. They realized that their English Teacher Mrs. Huber had recently started using a new prosthetic leg that wouldn't allow her to wear sandals or flats because of a height discrepancy. Adding a shoe like that to the prosthetic would cause the teacher to have issues with gait and lead to problems associated with misaligned hips.

Throughout the design and development process the students would check back in with Mrs. Herber. They had her try on the attachment then bring it back to the workshop for adjustments. In the end they landed on a design that worked well and presented it to their teacher. Mrs. Herber was pleased with the final product, " I'm really impressed with its practicality and their resourcefulness and hard work. I can't wait to put their product to use! This is a great example of how capable our students are."