On a counter sits a mounted electronic hand. Press a button, and it clenches and relaxes. Nearby is a computerized knee ready for fitting. The devastation of World War II stimulated interaction between scientists who wanted to help veterans who returned home missing arms and legs, resulting in major breakthroughs. In 1946, the Department of Veterans Affairs assumed responsibility for development of more functional limbs and enlisted Northwestern University and 15 other institutions as well as industry and philanthropic foundations to help veterans and later, other amputees.
Materials used include plastic, composites, fiberglass, metal and wood.
In most cases, the limb has to heal and shrink before the patient is fitted with a prosthesis. This is not some android assembly line or mad puppeteer's workshop. It is one of the world's great research centers, a place where people lacking limbs can be made whole. The internationally renowned Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinics and Laboratories of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University are home to nearly 50 artisans, engineers, doctors, therapists and scientists who develop, manufacture, test and fit artificial limbs. More than 2,000 people come here each year to be fitted and to learn simple tasks such as tying a shoe, buttoning a blouse or walking from one end of the room to the other.