Carl
"My hope was to develop a product that would directly and dramatically improve people's lives. To see people overcome with emotion upon first wearing the Harmony® and to hear them say it makes them feel whole again…that's rewarding beyond measure."
As an amputee and Certified Prosthetist, 62-year old Carl intimately understands the problems lower limb amputees experience on a daily basis, not the least of which is the very common and painful problem of residual limb volume fluctuation. This fluctuation causes an inconsistent fit of the artificial limb and blisters, rashes, chafing and even ulcers result. For many amputees, mobility is limited to only a few steps at a time before the pain becomes unbearable, and between twentyfive to thirty-five percent of them give in to the chronic pain and don’t use their prostheses at all.
An avid outdoorsman, boater, racquetball player and weightlifter, Carl wasn’t willing to surrender to the pain and give up his active lifestyle, though it meant a number of surgeries to correct cysts and tissue breakdowns.
He instead developed the revolutionary Harmony® Socket Enhancement System. A prosthetic breakthrough available only from Otto Bock Health Care, the Harmony applies VASS™ (Vacuum-Assisted Socket System) technology. A result of intensive research, the one-of-a-kind VASS technology creates an elevated vacuum between the patient’s liner and socket wall, promoting natural fluid exchange and a secure fit. The increase in patient mobility has been remarkable, with some users going from ten minutes of mobility to ten hours.
You could try to convince Carl and the thousands of other Harmony users they have to live life with limitations—but you’d have to catch up to them first.
