Switzerland
NeuroLegs
About the Pilot
"I left my office for a tour on my Harley, expecting to return to work the next morning – but I didn't return until eight months later." Stefan Poth recalls. In a city, a car suddenly drove out of a queue into his lane, hit him on his motorbike and thereby crushed his left leg. Relatively quickly, Stefan found a way to cope with his new situation, including the fact that the accident was someone else's fault: "I lost a lot of blood and was unstable at first. My leg had to be amputated at the knee. I quickly overcame the phase of ‘could it have gone differently?’ and learned to accept my fate."
Since 1996 Stefan has been an entrepreneur and headhunter in marketing and communication. He often acts as a consultant and mentor for people who are looking for a career change. In his spare time, he plays wheelchair tennis. He was a tennis player before but getting the timing right with his wheelchair was a new challenge. "The accident is one of the reasons why I‘m so active today. I enjoy tackling and achieving new things and being able to determine my own life. That's one of the reasons why I'm competing at CYBATHLON." Stefan continues.
About the Device
Stefan takes part in the competition with his own prosthetic leg. NEUROLEGS system consists of an add-on that provides sensory feedback to the patient. It is composed of a pressurized insole that gathers information about the foot-ground interaction. This information is sent to a microprocessor that elaborates it and converts it into electrical stimulation at the level of the stump. Depending on where Stefan is stepping, the electrical stimulation is provided either frontally, laterally, or on the back of the stump in real time. In this way, not only does the pilot receive feedback that he is touching the ground, but it also integrates the exact location where the prosthetic foot is stepping. Overall, this improves his confidence and reduces the mental fatigue of walking, allowing him to 'trust' his tactile sense.