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A revolution in prosthetics

Army veteran Matt Sullivan shows the custom wood-grained shin fairing that's stamped with the logo of his hometown San Diego Padres baseball team.

Army veteran Matt Sullivan shows the custom wood-grained shin fairing that’s stamped with the logo of his hometown San Diego Padres baseball team.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Prosthetics long have focused on function. But the same design sensibility that has come to influence practical items like smartphones is turning synthetic limbs into a platform for self-expression.
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Modern prosthetics

In his San Diego apartment gym, Army veteran Matt Sullivan works out while wearing a customized prosthetic leg. He lost his leg in the Afghanistan war. A polished metal fairing surrounds an existing prosthetic leg and is shaped like the calf of his good leg.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Army veteran Matt Sullivan walks to class in San Diego while wearing a customized prosthetic leg. He lost his leg in the Afghanistan war. Made by Bespoke Innovations of San Francisco, a polished metal fairing surrounds an existing prosthetic leg and is shaped like the calf of his good leg.

Army veteran Matt Sullivan walks to class in San Diego while wearing a customized prosthetic leg. He lost his leg in the Afghanistan war. Made by Bespoke Innovations of San Francisco, a polished metal fairing surrounds an existing prosthetic leg and is shaped like the calf of his good leg.   (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Modern prosthetics

South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius competes in the Flex-Foot Cheetahs, designed by Van Phillips and now made by Össur.  (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images)

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