Artificial limbs have taken one step closer to becoming a functional reality after the blueprints for the “Toe-Flex”, a pair of artificially-manufactured feet, were transferred to U.S. prosthetics firm ST&G with an aim to commercialize the technology. (Image: Korea Workers Compensation and Welfare Service)
SEOUL, Nov. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Artificial limbs have taken one step closer to becoming a functional reality after the blueprints for the “Toe-Flex”, a pair of artificially-manufactured feet, were transferred to U.S. prosthetics firm ST&G with an aim to commercialize the technology.
The transfer agreement will be signed between the U.S. firm’s representatives and the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at its base of operations in Incheon on November 6. The technology transfer will also include the designs to a magnetic locking device referred to as “Maglock” that was developed alongside the Toe-Flex.
The South Korean and U.S. organizations will conduct joint preparatory research to introduce the technology to the American market once it is approved by the FDA.
Expectations for the technology’s use is high, as successful commercialization could reduce the amount of time for amputees to learn to walk again. It would also serve to maximize the effects of treatment, according to the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, the parent organization of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center.
The South Korean and U.S. organizations will conduct joint preparatory research to introduce the technology to the American market once it is approved by the FDA.
Research Director Yoo Jae-cheong said, “The Toe-Flex and Maglock are groundbreaking prosthetics technology that in regards to movement capabilities surpass similar devices designed by foreign organizations.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
