Now 62, she competes on horseback, skis and scuba dives. But she vividly remembers what it was like to be an amputee when the technology was much cruder. No one knows that better than the people who make artificial limbs. In the old days, you couldn't see people running as fast as they do now. These components that they have now are just so energy-storing.
Every leg is custom-made, designed precisely for a person's height and weight.
To make a socket, new soft thermal plastics are formed around a mold of the person's existing limb. It permits the athletes to flex their muscles. Suction mechanisms help the legs fit tighter, making them seem virtually glued on. They are so strong an amputee could literally hang upside down, and the legs would stay on, Stull asserts. And he credits athletes with these breakthroughs.