Ford Grants Help Fountaine To Create Low Cost Prosthetic Limbs
Daliycsr.com – 19 April 2016 – About three years ago, the Boston Marathon had faced tragic accidents in its “international flag-lined finish line” as there “two ground-shaking explosions”. The first responder of this tragedy included the “Emergency Medical Technicians” and the “national guardsmen” clad in cameo. They worked together to triage the victims and pulled out hundred and fifty injured many of them who either lost “or injured legs, ankles and feet”.
Brian Fountaine, a design student from the Northeastern University, could well sympathise with the sufferers as nine years ago he lost two of his legs in a bomb blast in Iraq while he was “serving in a second tour”. However, Fountaine could do a lot more than just sympathise with the victim. He was also confident about him knowledge to shorten research and development time” to help out these people.
Fountaine took his “social media connections” to reach out to the world with his idea of helping the victims, whereby he acquired “$10,000” grant besides bagging the “Ford College Community Challenge grant from Ford Motor Company Fund” for the year of 2015, which gave him another “$25,000”.
According to Ford’s report:
“The bonus grant will allow for purchase of a solid block of metal for limb creation, travel to conferences to collaborate with other prosthetic limb designers toward lessening the cost of limbs. After all, a prosthetic leg costs $5,000 to $50,000 but wear and tear require replacement in three to five years. Of course a growing child requires sooner replacement; and each limb requires custom fitting”.
Fountaine has his team working on this project and in his words:
“My friend, Maureen was born without her left hand, but she played violin with a clamp holding the bow. It was lost in a house fire. It cost about $750. I told her, I can make it for about $50. We’re working on it. There will be tests, but this will open a big world for amputees.”
References:
www.fordblueovalnetwork.org
Brian Fountaine, a design student from the Northeastern University, could well sympathise with the sufferers as nine years ago he lost two of his legs in a bomb blast in Iraq while he was “serving in a second tour”. However, Fountaine could do a lot more than just sympathise with the victim. He was also confident about him knowledge to shorten research and development time” to help out these people.
Fountaine took his “social media connections” to reach out to the world with his idea of helping the victims, whereby he acquired “$10,000” grant besides bagging the “Ford College Community Challenge grant from Ford Motor Company Fund” for the year of 2015, which gave him another “$25,000”.
According to Ford’s report:
“The bonus grant will allow for purchase of a solid block of metal for limb creation, travel to conferences to collaborate with other prosthetic limb designers toward lessening the cost of limbs. After all, a prosthetic leg costs $5,000 to $50,000 but wear and tear require replacement in three to five years. Of course a growing child requires sooner replacement; and each limb requires custom fitting”.
Fountaine has his team working on this project and in his words:
“My friend, Maureen was born without her left hand, but she played violin with a clamp holding the bow. It was lost in a house fire. It cost about $750. I told her, I can make it for about $50. We’re working on it. There will be tests, but this will open a big world for amputees.”
References:
www.fordblueovalnetwork.org
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