Seattle Systems' Category Leading Cadence HP Foot Now Rated up to 350 Pounds.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

POULSBO, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2004

Tested For Two Million Cycles, New Level 5 Cadence HP and Custom

Cosmesis System Offer Exciting Prosthetics Alternatives For Patients

Seattle Systems, Inc., a Northwest-based company supplying trusted orthotic, prosthetic and orthopedic products to America's finest healthcare providers, today announced a higher patient weight limit version of its flagship prosthetic foot, the Cadence HP(TM). Tested and rated to 350 pounds at medium activity levels, the new level 5 Cadence HP foot combines the best of cutting-edge materials and engineering standards to increase weight limits, enabling larger patients to enjoy the benefits of the Cadence HP's more natural gait.

Seattle Systems offers the Level 5 Cadence HP foot to the O&P market with the confidence of a product tested to a punishing two million cycles. With its patented C-shape, the Cadence HP foot is soft enough to be ultra comfortable yet resilient enough for all activity levels. The C-shape design also makes the new Cadence HP the liveliest prosthetic foot available for large patients, providing the benefits of a natural gait for all activity levels. These combined factors make the new Level 5 Cadence HP an ideal foot for heavier patients' everyday walking, as well as brisk activities or hiking on uneven terrain.

Already included with the Cadence HP is an outer shell based on the cosmetically superior Seattle LightFoot. Adding to the value of this winning product combination, Seattle Systems is bringing to market a custom ankle-to-knee cosmesis system, called the Cadence Cosmetic Cover. The Cadence Cosmetic Cover is different from other standard covers due to a high-quality, cross-linked plastizote polyethylene which is durable yet flexible enough to accommodate the wide range of motion of the ankle area. The new Cover attaches to the top of the Cadence HP foot shell and fits to the top of the leg just below the knee. The new Cadence Cosmetic Cover plastizote can be easily sanded to the shape of the patients' sound leg and includes a perfectly sized recess at the bottom of the Cover for fitting to the Cadence HP foot's ankle shaft.

The Cadence HP foot's C-shape linkage and the keel all work in harmony to promote forward momentum without increased energy expenditure. At push-off, the full range of the C-shape shank is achieved and the posterior linkage then transfers the energy to the keel. With the Level 5 Cadence HP foot, Seattle Systems strived to keep the shank thickness the same as a Level 4 foot to minimize weight and avoid an additional linkage configuration -- increasing durability and decreasing design complexity. Through Seattle Systems' engineering and materials expertise, the new Level 5 Cadence HP foot has the appropriate stiffness increase so that a 350 lb patient experiences the same level of response as a 200 lb patient. The resulting Level 5 foot was then tested to two million cycles and during testing required zero bushing replacements. Also, the static load test of the new 350 pound rated Level 5 Cadence HP foot went two and half times over the required load, after the cyclic test.

"Offering the new, higher weight tolerant Cadence HP foot gives the value-focused practitioner the ability to produce a highly-functional, lightweight limb for patients weighing up to 350 pounds," said Seattle Systems' lead engineer, Chris Henry, who has overseen testing of the new Cadence HP foot. "Overall the Cadence HP offers the most aggressive level of plantar flexion on the market, making the foot compliant enough to be very comfortable yet tested to be resilient enough for active wear and tear."

"According to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, nearly 25 percent of a large group of individuals with disabilities were obese -- defined as having body mass index greater than 30 -- compared with about 15 percent of the adults without disabling conditions," said Tom LeTourneau, LCPO, FAAOP of LeTourneau Prosthetics of Texas. "As a certified practitioner, I recognize that products which encourage greater mobility are a top priority. With the improved outcome I've experienced using the Cadence HP foot, I can assist my patients in increasing mobility which should aid in weight loss and avoid the well-known health risks of obesity."

The New Seattle Systems, Inc.

Based in the Northwest with sales offices worldwide, Seattle Systems is a leading American manufacturer of orthopedic and physical rehabilitation products. Seattle Systems provides trusted products with proven designs that meet or exceed industry standards for quality and ease of use for orthopedic, podiatric, orthotic and prosthetic professionals around the globe. The wide-ranging product line includes orthotic bracing, cold therapy, sports medicine and artificial limb components and systems.

For more information, please visit our web site at www.seattlesystems.com.