WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Tornado survivor Stephanie Decker is ending 2012 on a high note after a year of dramatic challenges. Thursday the nation will see the Indiana mother walk for the first time with new prostheses that incorporate a novel approach to automated foot and ankle control.  The underlying technology provides patients with enhanced stability, function and mobility options.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121212/DA28935)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100712/DA33752LOGO)

Decker, who shielded her children from the March twister as it destroyed their home, had to have parts of her legs amputated after crushing debris fell on her. Decker chose Orthocare Innovations (www.orthocareinnovations.com), a developer of advanced orthotic and prosthetic devices, to fit her with its Magellan™ Microprocessor Foot Ankle System.

Ellen DeGeneres will feature an update on Decker on her nationally syndicated talk show scheduled to air Thurs., Dec. 13.

Decker says, "The Magellan feet have catapulted my abilities to walk, work out at the gym, and achieve my personal goal of attaining my life back. Not only does it allow movements that were virtually impossible before, it has given me the confidence to feel like a vibrant and beautiful woman again."

Magellan brings a novel approach to lower limb prosthetics by mimicking key features of the human ankle that are essential to normal gait. The human ankle instantly changes from supple to firm and from flexible to powerful while walking or running. Magellan offers active ankle function using microprocessor computer control, combined with advanced, micro-hydraulic technology, providing persons who have lost limbs with enhanced efficiency, stability and comfort.

Another innovative feature is Magellan's connectivity, linking the device to its user and the user's health care providers. This functionality, afforded by iPhone and iPad apps and Bluetooth technology, enables patients to make adjustments to Magellan themselves, such as adaptations to account for changes in footwear. This functionality extends to health care providers, affording access to patient performance and device diagnostics.

"I have witnessed how Magellan MFA instantly changes patients' lives. For the first time patients, providers and payers are connected with the touch of a button. It is unlike any other prosthetic device," says Orthocare Innovations' Clinical Services Manager Suzie Williams, who is also the prosthetist who helped fit Decker with the Magellan MFAs.

An animated video that explains how the system works is available at: Magellan Video.

Orthocare Innovations (www.orthocareinnovations.com) is a leading research, development and manufacturing organization in the field of orthotics and prosthetics focused on commercializing advanced technologies to improve patient mobility. Building on proprietary sensor and actuation technologies, Orthocare Innovations is developing products that monitor, analyze and react in real-time to changes in patient physiology, alignment and gait. The company's product development approach is to produce products that are consistent with, and contribute to, evidenced-based practice demands for verifiable clinical efficacy and improved patient performance.

SOURCE Orthocare Innovations