Pioneering prosthetic research

During the late 1950s, Berkeley engineers begin biomechanical and prosthetic research. Advances in devices and technology translate into improving the quality of life for end users.

Chuck Radcliffe receives his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Berkeley. He becomes a faculty member and principal investigator in the Prosthetics Research Group of the Biomechanics Laboratory for the next 35 years. His major projects are the study of human locomotion and improved prosthetic limb design. He makes pioneering contributions to the quadrilateral socket, patellar-tendon-bearing (PTB) prosthesis, solid ankle cushion heel (SACH) foot and the four-bar prosthetic knee. He is credited with providing the fundamental principles of the biomechanics of prosthetic alignment and socket force transfer throughout the amputee gait cycle. He publishes numerous papers on mechanism design, especially as applied to prosthetic devices, and is often lauded as the father of prosthetic biomechanics.

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