James Foort

James Foort, a leader and innovator in the field of prosthetic limbs, was born on December 10 1921, in New West Minster, British Columbia. In 1941, after spending his childhood as a fisherman and part time high school student, he joined the Air Force as a wireless operator. When WWII ended, he attended the College of Victoria, where he finished his high school credits and earned a degree.

After earning a bachelors and masters degree in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto, James joined Colin McLaurin, an Air Force veteran and aeronautical engineer, and Fred Hampton, a leader in the field of prosthetics, at Sunnybrooke Veteran’s Hospital in Toronto in 1951, working for the department of Veteran’s affairs. With the culmination of WWII, veterans across the world were complaining about the quality of their artificial limbs, as stated by Douglas A. Hobson in his article, Reflections on Rehabilitation Engineering History: Are There Lessons to be Learned? “There was clearly a coalescence of national need and emotions,” he writes, regarding the returning WWII veterans. This need “translated into a political will and funded programs within leading federal agencies in both Canada and the US.” [Hobson, A. Douglas, “Reflections on rehabilitation engineering history: Are there lessons to be learned?” Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, Vol. 39 No. 6, November/December 2002, Supplement Pages, 17-22.] At the Sunnybrooke Hospital in Toronto, James helped to develop a prosthetic foot that, unlike any previous models, had no moving parts and essentially functioned like a rocker. As well, due to complaints from fisherman, he replaced the raw hide used to protect the prosthesis with a plastic material that was more suited to withstand various elements such as sea salt.

In 1953, opportunity and superior funding from the University of Berkeley, drew James to California where, working with C.W. Radcliff, he helped to develop the quadrilateral socket, a jig fitting system for amputations above the knee. Unlike previous technology, these jigs held the correct position of the knee, therefore making it easier and more comfortable for amputees to walk. As Kevin Carroll, James C. Baird, and Katherine Binder relate in their book, Prosthetics and Patient Management: A Comprehensive Clinical Approach, the work that James Foort did at Berkeley with the “exploration of the biomechanics of alignment during ambulation remains the basis of contemporary prosthetic alignment.” [Baird, C. James, Katherine Binder and Kevin Carroll. “Prosthetics and Patient Management: A Comprehensive Clinical Approach.” Chapter 9, Transfemoral Prosthetic Designs [on-line document] http://www.slackbooks.com/excerpts/46712/46712.asp ] In addition to developing the quadrilateral socket, the team at Berkeley developed prosthesis for total absence of the limb and for amputations below the knee, both of which were completely new technologies and for the first time, enabled the amputee to walk around with no corset or side joints. Not only did these new adaptations solve the problem of constriction of circulation and ease restriction on the thigh, but it allowed people to be amputated below the knee for the first time, thereby increasing their function.

James returned to Canada in 1963, where living and working in Winnipeg, he developed a modular system of lower extremity prosthetics. This ‘tinker toy’ system, as he describes it, meant that instead of long delays in the process of making, adjusting, and replacing prosthetics, it could now be done extremely quickly because each of the parts could fit easily in to one another. Everything had to be sculpted before.

In 1971, James moved to Vancouver where, with a team of engineers, he developed a computer program to fit artificial limbs. It The program provided a means of making the shape of the socket, which would then be used to program the machine that carved the shape. His modular ‘tinker toy’ system would then be used to put the prosthesis together. The computer system would later be known as CAD-CAM (computer aided design and manufacture). Dudley S. Childress highlights in his Computer Aided Design and Manufacture presentation, that “Historically, the development of CAD-CAM stems from the initial conception and engineering work by James Foort, in the 1960s and 1970s. [Childress, S. Dudley, “Presentation highlights: Computer-Aided Design and
Manufacture (CAD-CAM).” Journal of Rehabilitation Research and DevelopmentVol. 39 No. 3, (Supplement) May/June 2002. VA/NIH Prosthetics RoundtablePages 15-16. ] CAD-CAM was developed, and later improved, by prosthetics companies such as Bio-Sculptor looking to make profit. James Foort never attempted to patent any of his technological breakthroughs in pursuit of profit, choosing instead to make the technology affordable and easily accessible. In the age of the relentless pursuit of profit, James can be viewed as something of a modern day hero for his willingness to devote his life to helping others without wanting anything in return.

James Foort retired in 1981 and currently lives in Vancouver where he spends his time doing art, writing, and urban farming.

References

* Additional information was taken from an interview with James Foort, September 24 2007.