Bionic Legs Step Up the Action
Man with Bionic Leg climbs 103 floors...
Zac Vawter proudly looks down to the busy Chicago streets far down below.
Only moments earlier Zac, who had lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident made history when he scaled the whole 103 floors of the Willis Tower...with the help of an engineering marvel.
The computerized prosthetic limb is designed to respond to electrical impulses from muscles in his hamstring. As he thinks to move his foot the bionic leg responds. "Everything went great," said Vawter, "The prosthetic leg did its part, and I did my part."
Nearly 3,000 climbers participated in this annual climb of the Willis Tower, a charity event to raise money for the institute's rehabilitation care and research...for the first time one of the participants was missing a leg.
The bionic leg is part of an $8 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Project is centered around giving disabled soldiers the equipment to get back in the fight.
Watch this WCPO news report for more on bionic soldiers.
