Hi, Jim Connor here. We're back at the Solcap 2016 conference in Fort Mason in San
Francisco. Today I'm with Brandon Burke of LegWorks. Now you had some kind of
accident or something and lost the leg. You're left laying. We got some images
and some footage you walking around and you've come up with this invention. Tell
us a little bit about how it works. Yeah, so here with LegWorks our product is the
all-terrain knee and so what it is is it's a really really functional mechanical
knee joint and it is traditionally not really possible to make something so
high-functioning without hydraulics or electronics and so what we're able to do
with this knee is we're able to deliver a product globally that is able to give
an amputee the stability they need, promote a natural walking pattern and
allow for multiple walking speeds. See, I've noticed you walking around and
demonstrating and you have a completely natural gait. I mean there is no balance
problem. Did you do this yourself? No, so I have three amazing co-founders including
the inventor of the knee. His name is Dr. Jan Andresek. He works at a children's
rehabilitation hospital Holland Bloorview in Toronto and he runs a research lab there.
So there's a mechanism in here, a novel mechanism that allows the knee to switch
between this high level of stability when the person has the weight on the leg
versus it being able to naturally swing. We've conducted a number of clinical
studies some of which were funded by Grand Challenges Canada and so there's
strong empirical evidence showing this knee to allow amputees to have greater
feeling of security falling down less actually significantly less on the
order of one time per month versus one time per day as well as walking more
efficiently and being able to walk more quickly. So he's been developing the
technology for about 12 years and so we came together the last three years as a
team to get it out of the lab and get it out there on as many amputees we can to
try and improve mobility and helps change some lives. We fit hip dysartic so
people missing all the way up to their hip and have had some really great
outcomes on those patients also bilateral patients so patients that are
missing both legs and so to have a mechanical knee that can really serve
the needs of that patient is not something that's traditionally found.
Can you feel the knee can you I mean a lot of people say there are nerve
endings in your leg and you you feel something there do you feel the movement
of the knee? That's something that we found that patients really they're able
to know when the knee is straight and supporting them and that's something
we're transitioning from microprocessor from a different knee is that we've had
a lot of patients say that they really really they get to trusting when it's
out there and that they feel it coming through they feel that resistance so
it's purely mechanical no electronics no hydraulics but it's an
effective tool for helping amputees and you know enabling them to do the things
that they need to do. What are your goals here at the conference? Yeah so we we
just closed a financing round and we're we're excited to build out our US sales
team and to continue to support and grow the international distributors that we
have and so we're here you know to put ourselves in a position to hopefully be
able to find some partnerships to you know bring the the knee and the
technology to certain markets so some grant funding around specific partnerships
or specific countries as well as we have a great pediatric prototype that we'd
love to be able to bring to market and so also from a grant funding perspective
being able to really bring this technology to help children globally.
Right so you can also have this fit for children too. Yeah so the the first
bilateral we fit was on a ten-year-old and so he's just done amazing with it
and the durability and the functionality and stability are all things that kids
really need and so we've scaled down the technology but now just need to do some
further development so that way we can bring not just a smaller and lighter
product but one that's better suited for their needs and really enjoyed the
conversation I wish you ever success it's a remarkable device I see how
limbo how quick and how agile you are you a sports guy you an athlete of some
type when I'm when I'm not working which is rarely these days but I do enjoy
running and playing basketball so yeah and you got this fitted with a tennis
shoe or a basketball shoe and you just like just running around probably beating
half the guys on the court so that's great more than half what they have good
well I wish you ever success going forward and I look forward to seeing you
in the news thanks so much Jim thanks for having me on game changers
