Covering the angles

Generally, we take our bodies for granted. How its various mechanisms actually work rarely, if ever, occupies anyone's thoughts — unless they go wrong. And if you're unlucky enough to lose part of your body altogether, then replacing it suddenly shows just how complex that part was.

This is particularly true of prosthetic legs. Many different types have been designed over the centuries, from the 'peg leg' to today's advanced limb replacements. Making prosthetics mimic the function of the original limb is the most important part of the design process, and a team from the Fraunhofer Technology Development Group in Stuttgart has been making important moves towards designing the perfect prosthetic leg.

As team leader Urs Schneider points out, most people who lose a limb do so later in life. 'Most amputations today are the result of diabetes or peripheral arterial disease, and statistically speaking, the risk of contracting these increases with age,' he said.