Inventor Lance Black designed an award-winning device that improves the standing ability—and independence—of people with degenerative disorders, including post-polio syndrome and multiple sclerosis.
By Lynne Harris
Dr. Lance Black has always been curious about the combination of man and machine, but it’s not race cars or rockets that captivate him. From the time Black was young, he had a passion for using science and engineering to develop prosthetic devices that could help people with disabilities, particularly amputees, achieve their goals.
“I always felt that people looked at amputees differently, because their differences were right there on the surface,” said Black. “All their successes seemed to be secondary to their disability, but when given the chance, it’s inspiring to see what amputees can accomplish through sheer determination and a little help from engineers.”
Black’s interest in prosthetics and orthotics led him to major in bio-engineering at Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge. Here, as part of his senior year class project, his professor challenged him to research, design and build a device that might help people with disabilities better perform their jobs. Black and a few others immediately viewed the assignment as an opportunity to help a mutual friend with postpolio syndrome. His disability caused his knee to randomly collapse as he was walking or standing and made his job as a land surveyor difficult. The stiff knee brace he used for support restricted his range of motion and maneuverability, slowed his gait and even put him at risk for further injuries.
Seat Belt Knee
Knee stablization joint, or seat-belt knee
With these challenges in mind, Black and his classmates created a device called the knee stabilization joint (KSJ) or “seat belt knee.” The KSJ allowed for more flexibility and a more natural range of motion thus enabling a more natural gait and protecting users from falls.
Several years later, after some refinements, the KSJ earned second place in the 2009 National Scholar Awards, sponsored by NISH, a nonprofit agency that facilitates the AbilityOne Program, which creates jobs and training opportunities for people who are blind or who have other significant disabilities.
“People who have degenerative knee disorders, such as post polio syndrome, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, or other knee flexor / extensor deterioration, are prone to falls and other injuries, which limits the type of work they can perform,” said Paul Nishman, NISH rehabilitation engineer. “The Knee Stablization Joint that Lance and his colleagues developed offers greater knee stability and support, which opens the door to a broad range of employment that require walking or standing. Innovations such as these are critical to helping people with disabilities gain work experience, secure employment, earn money and, ultimately, become more self-sufficient.”
Slow Change
Black says that, for a long time, people with disabilities and their changing needs were seemingly ‘forgotten,’ as demonstrated by out-of-date othotic and prosthetic devices that had limited functionality. “The biggest eye opener came while I was flipping through an orthotics/prosthesis catalog. Honestly, I wasn’t certain if the catalog was from the 1970s or more recent. A lot of devices we use today haven’t changed for decades but thankfully this appears to be changing.”
Several innovations are finally emerging, including activityspecific prostheses that extend and enhance amputees’ capabilities.
“I have been fortunate to work with soldiers who were injured and they want to get back to hobbies and sporting events, so they are customizing prostheses that are geared toward a particular function,” he said.
The most familiar is the “Cheetah leg” for running, but mountain climbers and even pool players have special prostheses. “It’s like a Swiss Army Knife. There is a prosthetic for nearly every activity—work or play.”
Even more important than prosthetic advancements, however, is advocating for change.
“People with disabilities and amputees are often pushed to the side, and it’s not something that’s going to stop until we make it stop,” he said. “One way to do this is to give people the right tools and the right encouragement to seize an opportunity, professional or otherwise, no matter what it is. The result is a very powerful change in the way we perceive people with disabilities. It is something we all should pursue.”
Black advises people with disabilities to “push yourself above and beyond what you can accomplish. If you have a disability, you actually have an advantage because you’ve personally experienced the challenges that are out there and you have the in-depth knowledge and insight to help others in similar situations. For example, some of the most accredited engineers are those who have suffered the very disability that they are trying to assist. Who better to pursue that kind of research?”
Clear Path
Today, Black is a family physician at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. After receiving his undergraduate degree, he diverted slightly from his focus on bio-engineering, joining the U.S. Air Force and pursuing his medical degree from Louisiana State University—New Orleans. “I knew that by staying on the bio-engineering path I would wind up confined to a lab but, as a doctor, I get to work one-on-one with patients, which is important for me.”
His interest in prosthetics has not waned, though. Once he repays the Air Force for subsidizing medical school, he will consider a return to prosthetics engineering, potentially with an organization called Clear Path International, which provides victims of landmines with healthcare and prosthesis.
“Like many others, I used to be a skeptic about what people with disabilities could accomplish, but you don’t know what’s possible until you see it or experience it personally,” said Black. “These individuals can do just about anything and, in many cases, they do it even better than your or I. That’s why creating opportunities—in the workplace or on the soccer field—is so important. Giving people with disabilities a chance to demonstrate their talents and show what they can do will change your thinking and may even challenge you to reflect differently on your own abilities.”
Lynne Harris is communications director at NISH, a nonprofit organization that assists nonprofit agencies employing people with significant disabilities in obtaining federal contracts under
