OVERLAND PARK, Kan. --
With the innovation of the microchip, the prosthetics industry has grown tremendously over the past few years.
But now, a first-of-its-kind pump is making life a little easier for area amputees.
It's a new day for Earl Barnes, a 14-year veteran firefighter in Douglass County, thanks to the V-Hold smart socket, which its maker said is about to revolutionize the prosthetics industry.
The V-Hold is a new pump that works on vacuum-like suction technology. The device allows patients mobility like never before, the makers said.
Barnes said the V-Hold means he can not only do his job as a firefighter, going up and down ladders, but he can also do things that he couldn't before. He was one of the first patients nationwide to get the V-Hold smart socket, and he plans to put it to good use.
Barnes said he hopes to compete in an Iron Man triathlon soon.
LINK: Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics
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