{"685409":{"#nid":"685409","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Nathan Wallace Takes Steps to Advance Prosthetics","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENathan Wallace was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency, a congenital limb disorder, which led to the amputation of his left foot at 8 months old. He was fitted for his first prosthetic at 13 months.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, the third-year biomedical engineering student is using his life experience to develop advanced prostheses as a member of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epic.gatech.edu\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EExoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls (EPIC) Lab\u003C\/a\u003E. Wallace is part of the development and machine learning teams on an ongoing \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.epic.gatech.edu\/powered-knee-ankle-prosthesis\/\u0022\u003Evertically integrated project\u003C\/a\u003E led by Associate Professor Aaron Young and senior research scientist Kinsey Herrin. The teams are engineering a microprocessor-powered leg and ankle capable of mimicking gait and providing stability in walking patterns across various surfaces.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditional prosthetics, like the one Wallace uses, don\u2019t provide ankle flexion, but the current iteration of the lab\u2019s leg offers something that he views as an evolution of products on the market today. The latest tests allowed Wallace, while wearing the leg, to walk up a ramp with the ankle and knee adapting to the slope.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cA lot of our power comes from the ankle, and our version of the leg better recreates a complete gait cycle, which includes the knee and ankle flexion and everything in between. With my current prosthetic, I don\u2019t have that same gait control, so I\u2019m swinging my foot around and overcompensating on my right leg. With our leg, I\u2019m walking up the ramp normally, and it\u2019s creating a movement that I\u0027ve never felt before,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlong with the improved performance of the leg, Wallace and the team intend to use machine learning to assist in fitting patients with prosthetics that meet their unique needs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u0027re trying to get away from patients having to spend hours in an office tuning a prosthetic to their preferences. Instead, it allows the machine learning model to learn as the person walks on it. This can help reduce costs related to both time and personnel,\u201d he said.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGrowing up, Wallace was an active child at recess and eventually became a high school wrestler. While there were times he felt he couldn\u2019t keep up with his classmates, he found ways to adapt. He credits his condition for helping him develop a strong work ethic and a desire to help others find the same confidence he has found as he\u2019s gotten older.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLearning to embrace who I am has made me the person I am today. It\u2019s given me perspective and a capacity for empathy and sympathy for others in the disabled community,\u201d he said. \u201cMy past and my condition have driven me to where I am today, and I feel privileged to be at Georgia Tech. It touches a special place in my heart to know that this kind of work is going on, and that I can be a part of it.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOutside of the lab, Wallace is a member of the student organization \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gatech.campuslabs.com\/engage\/organization\/tikkun-olam-makers\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETikkun Olam Makers\u003C\/a\u003E, which develops open-source solutions for members of disabled communities. He also creates props for DramaTech, and, continuing to push himself beyond his comfort zone, he recently starred in the student-run theater\u2019s production of \u003Cem\u003EEurydice\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Born with a congenital limb disorder, Wallace wants to use his own experience to develop new prosthetics.  "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBorn with a congenital limb disorder, Wallace wants to use his own experience to develop new prosthetics.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Born with a congenital limb disorder, Wallace wants to use his own experience to develop new prosthetics.  "}],"uid":"36418","created_gmt":"2025-09-30 17:08:41","changed_gmt":"2025-10-08 16:14:02","author":"sgagliano3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-09-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"678226":{"id":"678226","type":"image","title":"Nathan Wallace","body":"\u003Cp\u003ENathan Wallace testing the microprocessor-powered leg in the Exoskeleton and Prosthetic Intelligent Controls (EPIC) Lab at Georgia Tech. Submitted photo.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1759252630","gmt_created":"2025-09-30 17:17:10","changed":"1759252630","gmt_changed":"2025-09-30 17:17:10","alt":"Nathan Wallace in the lab","file":{"fid":"262221","name":"Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-1.15.01-PM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/30\/Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-1.15.01-PM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/09\/30\/Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-1.15.01-PM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2233040,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/09\/30\/Screenshot-2025-09-29-at-1.15.01-PM.png?itok=zWrJLCKm"}}},"media_ids":["678226"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.epic.gatech.edu","title":"EPIC Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"179350","name":"biomedical egnineering"},{"id":"1612","name":"BME"},{"id":"13559","name":"EPIC"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:steven.gagliano@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESteven Gagliano\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 Institute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}