James Foort

James Foort, a leader and innovator in the field of prosthetic limbs, was born on December 10, 1921, in New West Minster, British Columbia. In 1941, after spending his childhood as a fisherman and part-time high school student, he joined the Air Force as a wireless operator. When World War II ended, he attended the College of Victoria, where he finished his high school credits. He earned BASc and MASc degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, 1946 - 1951.

After earning degrees in chemical engineering, James joined Colin McLaurin, an Air Force veteran and aeronautical engineer, and Fred Hampton, a leader in the field of prosthetics, at Sunnybrooke Veteran’s Hospital in Toronto in 1951, working for the department of Veteran’s affairs. With the culmination of World War II, veterans across the world were complaining about the quality of their artificial limbs, as stated by Douglas A. Hobson in his article, Reflections on Rehabilitation Engineering History: Are There Lessons to be Learned? “There was clearly a coalescence of national need and emotions,” he writes, regarding the returning World War II veterans. This need “translated into a political will and funded programs within leading federal agencies in both Canada and the US.” At the Sunnybrooke Hospital in Toronto, James helped to develop a prosthetic foot that, unlike any previous models, had no moving parts and essentially functioned like a rocker. As well, due to complaints from fisherman, he replaced the raw hide used to protect the prosthesis with a plastic material that was more suited to withstand various elements such as moisture.

In 1953, with what he had learned at Sunnybrook Hospital, opportunity drew James to the University of California,Berkeley, where, working with C.W. Radcliff, he helped to develop the quadrilateral socket by developing a jig fitting system for amputations above the knee. Unlike previous technology, these jigs held the correct position of the residual limb, therefore making fitting of the socket for the residual limb easier and more comfortable for amputees to walk. As Kevin Carroll, James C. Baird, and Katherine Binder relate in their book, Prosthetics and Patient Management: A Comprehensive Clinical Approach, the work that James Foort did at Berkeley and subsequently with the “exploration of the biomechanics of alignment during ambulation remains the basis of contemporary prosthetic alignment.” In addition to developing the quadrilateral socket, the team at Berkeley systematized the prosthesis developed by Colin MacLaurin and Fred Hampton for total absence of the limb. The Berkeley team developed the PTB Below knee prosthesis for amputations below the knee, completely new technologies, The PTB prosthesis enabled the amputee to walk around with no corset or side joints. Not only did these new adaptations solve the problem of constriction of circulation and ease restriction on the thigh, but it allowed people to be amputated below the knee twice as was usual for amputations related to circulatory problems, thereby increasing their function.

James returned to Canada in 1963, where living and working in Winnipeg, he developed a modular system of lower extremity prosthetics. This ‘tinker toy’ system, as he describes it, meant that instead of long delays in the process of making, adjusting, and replacing prosthetics, it could now be done extremely quickly because each of the parts could fit easily into one another. Everything had to be sculpted before.

In 1971, James moved to Vancouver where, with a team of engineers, he developed a computer program to fit artificial limbs. The program provided a means of making the shape of the socket, which would then be used to program the machine that carved the shape. His modular ‘tinker toy’ system would then be used to put the prosthesis together. The computer system would later be known as CAD-CAM (computer aided design and manufacture). Dudley S. Childress highlights in his Computer Aided Design and Manufacture presentation, that “Historically, the development of CAD-CAM stems from the initial conception and engineering work by James Foort, in the 1960s and 1970s. CAD-CAM was developed, and later improved, by prosthetics companies such as Bio-Sculptor looking to make profit. James Foort never attempted to patent any of his technological breakthroughs in pursuit of profit, choosing instead to make the technology affordable and easily accessible. In the age of the relentless pursuit of profit, James can be viewed as something of a modern day hero for his willingness to devote his life to helping others without wanting anything in return.

James Foort retired in December 1986 and currently lives in Vancouver where he has written an opera and spends his time doing art, writing, and urban farming.