Brief Biography
Van Phillips was born in 1954 and grew up in a small town outside of Chicago. He had a fondness for the outdoors and had aspirations of being on tv as a reporter. His life drastically changed when a motorboat accident left him with only one leg. He was given a clumsy wooden prosthetic which was very restricting. He was not able to take part in the activities he so much enjoyed before the accident. He had envisioned a better type of prosthetic and followed his dream to create this design. He went to Northwestern University to study prosthetic design and eventually started his own company producing his design.
ContributionsVan Phillips design is know as the Flex-Foot. It has been worn by many olympic athletes and has revolutionized prosthetics. Before Van Phillips prosthetics were very restrictive to the user and their disability was truly disabling. With the creation of the Flex-Foot and all of the designs inspired by it prosthetics are no longer a detriment to the user. The Flex-Foot was a breakthrough design for bioengineering and has changed the view of prosthetics forever.
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