AT THE HOSPITAL...New Arms and Legs

The making of artificial limbs is known in the medical world as prosthetics. This field also includes orthopedic aids such as knee and neck braces. The Harshberger Prosthetic and Orthotic Center, Inc., Birmingham, Alabama specializes in making these devices (an artificial arm is shown at left).

Harshberger wanted to improve the way it makes artificial limbs. There was a need to replace the plaster and corn starch materials used to make molds for new arms and legs and similar devices. The plaster molds were heavy, easy to break (and unfixable when they broke), and were hard to ship and store. Harshberger asked NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama if they could help.

MSFC and the Lockheed-Martin Company are responsible for building the space shuttle external tank. The ET is covered with a foam insulation. It protects the ET from heat, and keeps the liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen inside the tank at proper cold temperatures. The ET insulation is lighter, stronger and can be worked more easily with a machine than plaster. Also important, the foam material is less expensive to use.

Harshberger tried the ET foam to make molds for the fitting of artificial limbs. It worked! The company was able to reduce the costs of making an artificial limb, which lowered the cost for patients. They were also able to mass-produce foam "blanks" for making molds, and began to ship them to artificial limb makers all over America.