WINDSOR — A Colorado-based company recently scored a patent for a first-of-its-kind invention that aims to give amputees more comfort and control.
Quorum Prosthetics, which has locations in Windsor, Aurora and Cheyenne, Wyoming, manufactures prosthesis for people who have lost limbs.
The company’s owner, Joe Johnson, believes the new design – called the Quatro Compression Socket – will allow amputees to be more active and have less fitting problems than before. Johnson himself is an amputee.
“The technology we had back then was just a wool sock…kind of Civil War-era technology,” Johnson said. “It was quite painful to wear a prosthesis back then.”
His new design uses silicon liners as an interface to block the skin from the surface of the socket.
“It’s amazing to see the reaction of our older amputees that have worn the typical prosthesis for years and years and when they go into this new technology and they get to wear it and feel it….it’s life changing and I just love it,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s idea started 20 years ago, but it was just two months ago that he received a patent.
“It’s been whirlwind since it happened,” Johnson said. “Now I can advertise it and we can get it out on the market and really show people what we can do with this product.
Laurie Allan lost her leg 35 years ago in a motorcycle accident. She faced a challenge like most active amputees.
“Your stump changes shape…so if you gain weight - it gets larger. If you lose weight - it gets smaller,” Allan said. “I put this on and adjusted it and I walked for the first time with no crutches…I was so excited.”
Learn more about the Quatro Compression Socket in the video below, or visit the Quorum Prosthetics website.
