NEWS RELEASE

Department of Defense
United States Army Medical Research and Development Command
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Released: March 3, 2022

PBS Documentary Features DOD-funded Research Leading to Improved Surgical Technique and Integration of Prosthetic Limbs

The PBS documentary, Augmented, highlights the collaborative work of DOD-funded Dr. Matthew Carty from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dr. Hugh Herr from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Carty performed the first human below the knee “Ewing amputation” more generally known as AMI (agonist-antagonist myoneural interface) surgery. Dr. Herr and his team have developed prosthetic limbs that integrate well with the residual limb to allow for enhanced, controlled movement. Their work was funded in part by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs through the Peer Reviewed Orthopaedic Research Program and Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program (with additional management support by the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity) as well as through the Neuromusculoskeletal Injuries portfolio now within the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP).

The documentary, which aired on the PBS program NOVA, includes the story and clinical progress of one individual, Mr. Jim Ewing, who was first to undergo the groundbreaking procedure. It also touches on the promising preliminary results of the surgical technique and prostheses on several other participants enrolled in related DOD-funded studies.

View Augmented here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/augmented/.

For more information about the CDMRP, our research programs, and research highlights please visit the website at https://cdmrp.army.mil.

Point of Contact:

CDMRP Public Affairs
301-619-7783
usarmy.detrick.medcom-cdmrp.mbx.cdmrp-public-affairs@mail.mil

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