With traditional prosthetic knee joints, people have to think, and sometimes worry, about every step they take – until the C-Leg came along. The C-Leg was developed by Otto Bock, a German company and world leader in the manufacture of prosthetic devices and parts. The C-Leg is the first “stance and swing” phase computer controlled prosthetic knee. Built into the C-Leg is a microprocessor that measures the fore and aft moment of flexion of the ankle as well as the angle and angular velocity of the knee joint and the terrain. It does this as many as fifty times every second. This information is processed within the C-Leg, which adapts itself in real time to the wearer.

When wearing the C-Leg, patients can now move around more freely in everyday situations without having to think before each step. Whether changing speed, crossing slopes, going up and down hill, climbing or descending stairs, or walking over uneven ground, the C-Leg predicts the wearer’s movements. It provides resistance to a change in attitude until it senses that the wearer is safe, and is particularly useful for stepping off curbs or down from a vehicle, walking down ramps, or going up and down stairs. This state of the art technology adapts itself in real time to an individual’s activities and safety requirements, and by means of special software can be adapted to other individual requirements. We currently have three patients walking on this remarkable knee, and there are more than 35,000 satisfied C-Leg wearers throughout the world.

The C-Leg has a second mode that can be programmed to allow the knee to be a free swing knee for cycling, or lock in a flexed position for golf or skiing. The C-Leg has allowed patients around the world to enjoy a much more active lifestyle, and comes with a 3-year warranty.