The six million dollar 'intelligent' foot
By ELEANOR MAYNE Last updated at 21:33pm on 2nd December 2006 
Stuart Hughes: Landmine victim is testing out the Proprio foot.
The fully functioning bionic man is a step closer after scientists developed the world's first 'intelligent' foot.
It has an inbuilt computer which makes it function almost like a human limb - and could help millions of people across the world.
And it turns into reality the science fiction seen in the popular Seventies TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, in which astronaut Steve Austin became superhuman after being fitted with $6million worth of artificial limbs following an accident.
The technology could soon be used on soldiers who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan through landmines, roadside bombs and suicide attacks.
Doctors in America have already been using the foot to rehabilitate soldiers and are amazed at its dexterity. They believe that with further advancement it could even allow amputees to return to the battlefield.
The prosthetic, called the Proprio, is based on US military research into motorised boots which would enhance soldiers' capacity to run long distances while they are carrying heavy loads.
The device is being tested in Britain by BBC producer Stuart Hughes, 34, who lost a leg below the knee when he stepped on a landmine while covering the war in Iraq three years ago.
He has used a conventional artificial limb since his amputation.
Last night he said: "This new foot is unlike anything else I've had. With my other limbs, you always had to think ahead to the type of surface in front of you and adjust the leg.
"This does it all for you and then you really do start to forget that it's artificial. I could easily see a soldier going back to the front line with this foot. I found it amazing."
The Proprio foot, costing £13,000, is one of a new range of 'bionic' artificial limbs designed by Icelandic company Ossur and is being launched in the UK this month.
To set it up, the new user takes 15 steps during which the computer analyses the gait. Sensors measure the movement of the foot more than 1,000 times a second.
Richard Hirons, a prosthetics engineer at Ossur, said: "The sensors detect whether the user is walking on level ground, going uphill or downhill or climbing steps.
"Every type of terrain has a distinct signature which the software controlling the foot can interpret. We currently have someone mountain-climbing with one in the Himalayas, so we would be pretty confident that it would cope for a soldier wearing it in Iraq."
Physiotherapist Kate Sherman of the Defence Services Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey, which helps to return injured troops to active duty, said: "It is very promising technology.
"This is the first electronic foot out there. We're keeping a close eye on it and hopefully in the future we will be involved in research to develop it further."
