MUSEUM ACQUIRES HANGER BELOW-KNEE RUNNING PROSTHESIS    John Schulte, CPO, FAAOP, left, donates a high-activity below-knee running prosthesis on behalf of donation to the Bethesda, Md. –based patient care company Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics to Jeff Reznick, Ph.D., the museum’s senior curator, Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., the museum’s director, and Alan Hawk, manager of the museum’s historical collections. The National Museum of Health and Medicine received a high-activity below-knee running prosthesis donated by certified orthotist and prosthetist John Schulte, CPO, FAAOP, on behalf of Bethesda, Md. –based patient care company Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics. It consists of the patented ComfortFlex™ Socket and an energy storage-and release prosthetic foot. Running prostheses allow active, healthy amputees to push beyond their activities of daily living and enable them to run and play sports. The inclusion of the shock absorption feature provides efficient energy storage and release, resulting in a natural spring-like motion that propels the athlete forward while consuming less energy. The Hanger ComfortFlex Socket combined with the energy storage-and-release prosthesis allow the amputee athlete to not only run again, but to compete with and oftentimes better than the able-bodied competitor. For example, as of 2006, the world record for a male amputee athlete in the 100-meter race is 11.08 seconds by American Marlon Shirley. As comparison, the world record for an able-bodied male in the 100-meter race is 9.76 seconds by American Justin Gatlin. Running prostheses are individually designed for the amputee relative to the length of the residual limb, the patient’s weight and the patient’s functional level. The supracondylar carbon fiber socket and flexible inner liner of this prosthesis, also known as the ComfortFlex Socket, attach to a carbon fiber foot/shin system that is extremely light weight and durable. The custom-molded socket is self-suspending with a flexible inner liner of ProFlex with silicone plastic that cushions and protects the residual limb and allows the wearer’s muscle to extend and contract uninhibitedly. The socket also has an acrylic impregnated carbon fiber frame that is extremely lightweight yet very strong. Additionally, the cut-outs in the carbon frame help to cool the residual limb both during normal activities and throughout periods of extreme exertion. The ComfortFlex Socket provides a very comfortable yet aggressive fit that increases blood circulation and function for the wearer. Titanium attachments marry the socket to the shin system. Adjustment screws allow the practitioner to modify the prosthesis to complement the gait of the amputee during running, resulting in maximum performance with low energy expenditure. “Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics is very pleased to be a contributor to the museum’s collections,” said Schulte. “With the current situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have treated an increasing number of war veterans who want to return to their active, athletic lifestyles. Hanger is dedicated to helping these active men and women achieve this goal.” The donated prosthesis has been added to the 15,000 artifacts in the museum’s historical collection as part of the orthotics and prosthetics collecting initiative. “The Hanger below-knee running prosthesis donation to the museum’s collection helps document the changes that are occurring even now in the area of orthotics and prosthetics,” said Alan Hawk, manager of the museum’s historical collections. “This device represents a significant change in how people with disabilities see themselves by allowing them to continue an active, even athletic lifestyle, compared with those from previous generations whose activities were limited by their handicap. It documents the influence of composite materials introduced in the late 1980s that have changed the old art of prosthesis manufacture and transformed the lifestyle of amputees.” In addition to various prosthetics on display in the exhibit “Battlefield Surgery 101” from the historical collection is the Otto Bock C-Leg prosthesis. The C-Leg has a microprocessor that senses when the wearer is walking, running or climbing stairs, and makes automatic adjustments to the knee’s function to provide stability. It allows the wearer to relearn how to walk in days rather than months. The historical collection documents medical technology since the early 17th century. The collection includes objects ranging in size from a small suture needle to a two-ton MRI magnet, such as X-ray equipment, microscopes, surgical instruments, numistatics, and anatomical models. The collection is made available for the education of medical professionals, Department of Defense personnel, historians, and the public through exhibits in the museum, loans to other institutions, and individualized study.