Safety Moment : Crashing & Breaking Your C1 Vertebra

When I hear of amazing tales of bicycling injuries and recoveries, I always think 'wow, do some folks have a disproportionate amount of lucky stars stashed somewhere in their basement?' Maybe that's why I don't have so much luck. Could others may have more than me?'

Lucky stars it is as today's mind blowing story comes all the way from Florida.

Sandy Scott is a champion Master racer from Florida and well known in cycling circles. He's an aeronautical engineer by schooling and worked as an airline pilot for many years. He also had a stand as a motorcycle cop for a period of time. Today in retired life, his interests are varied from tattoo modeling, to fishing, or from photography to writing for the Florida Racing Magazine. Somewhere along in there, he also manages devote a serious amount of time to training in order to win local bike races.

In Oct 2005, Sandy was racing toward his goal of winning the Florida Senior Games time trials when he was involved in a horrible accident. Keep in mind that time trial bikes are not designed to be very maneuverable. To avoid a person who stepped in front of his bike during the 10K time trial, he swerved suddenly, sending him flying over the handlebars and landing headfirst on the pavement.

Post crash, one witness told him that his rear disk wheel had gone completely airborne after he swerved. Another remarked that his front wheel had been turned 90 degrees to the path of the bike before he went flying over the bars. Whatever it was that caused the crash, Sandy recalls that the one thing that probably saved his life was his Louis Garneau helmet, that split right from the top.

After the incident, he temporarily lost his memory and didn't even remember racing his bike. Two days after he was admitted to hospital, an orthopedic spine surgeon took a look at his CT scans and MRIs and admitted with difficulty that he had one of the rarest and most fatal of all neck fractures - a C1 breakage. This is a type of injury where many residual deaths occur even after treatment because the breathing pipe work is usually situated around the fracture area and victims are often found unable to breathe a little too late.

Anyway, the surgeon told him that their options would be to try and fuse the C1 to the base of the skull or fuse it to the C2 vertebra. Sandy mulled it over. The outcome of the operation would be that he would lose 50% of his neck mobility. He wasn't ready to compromise something like that for bike racing. He chose not to have surgery!! But the resilience of the human body was somehow with him after that ballsy decision. 9 months later, a CAT scan revealed that the 2mm gap in his C1 fracture had somehow miraculously healed!

Now, 18 months later, the 66-year-old has made a tremendous comeback. In December of 2009, he came back and won the Florida State 20K Road Race Championship. He now rides his bike 20 hours a week, trains in the gym and still kicks butt at the local circuit.

Here's a snippet of Sandy's mail to me. He describes a little of his treatment process for those who are interested in the medical tidbits of such cases :

"They immediately fitted me with a hard brace which I wore for the next 5 months. I started immediately training 70 minutes a day on my trainer. I wanted to win a state championship and I was not about to lose my conditioning over even a broken neck. Ultimately, it was thought that the fracture was going to be a non union and the physician released me with the admonition that if I fell, I could die. I still rode with the fastest group in town with a fractured neck and one day an accident happened in front of me where a bike came flying through the air towards me, and I thought, "Oh, no, this is it." It hit me hard on the leg and opened a deep cut. I managed to stay upright.

It ultimately healed in 9 months, and I commenced regular physical therapy to regain my mobility. 14 hours total. In the piece that I sent you I relate meeting of a local chiropractor on the road who knew my story and told me he could help me. At that point, I could not ride my time trial bicycle in that I could not lift my head high enough to see where I was going. Two day a week treatments for a couple of months allowed me to finally be able to ride that TT bike, and months later, I was riding it almost comfortably.

My case was so unique that Dr. Weinstein, the spinal surgeon I found when I refused to have my neck fused as recommended by my first physician, presented my case to a large group of Orthopedic & Neuro Surgeons and Radiologists. My physical therapist thought the case was so amazing, she presented my case at a big convention of physical therapists in Las Vegas. Many of these people have never even seen a C1 fracture in their practices."

Wanting to tell about his injury and how he recovered, trained and won 13 races after his comeback, he co-authored a book titled "From Broken Neck To Broken Records". For those of you in his age category and anyone looking for motivation, the book will be an inspiring read.

Additionally, there is a radio interview at Growing Bolder. The hosts discuss with him about his long road to recovery, including his controversial decision to forgo surgery.

Its an honest and revealing talk from someone who probably wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for some serious luck, some great doctors, and a no-questions-asked winning mindset. And according to his own admission, he probably wouldn't have that mindset if it weren't for the helmet he wore. Little things add up and make a huge difference.

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Engineering Cycling Prosthesis For Amputees

It can be easy to forget that physically challenged people often have normal or sometimes, extraordinary cardiovascular and respiratory parameters. The only specialty is that they are deficient in normal motive functions, which is where their disability even becomes apparent. Society can help create devices for them with the help of which they can move and do things like normal people, using less of their own energy. This can go a long way in bringing the best out of these people.

Considering the rate at which technology is leapfrogging these days, athletes like Oscar Pistorius are very well capable of outstanding performances and giving others a run for their money, regardless of the event. You'd think there must be a good reason why we have the Paralympics and more than 20 major events under it.

Making custom prosthesis for such people fascinates me as a truly purposeful and noble engineering endeavor. The question of making things inclusive to the disabled trickles down from sports to normal transportation and recreation. Why must physically challenged people not be able to ride a bike like others? I can't think of any valid reason. And if they can, are there better ways to connect such individuals to the bicycle to give them a stress-free experience?

Four fundamental aspects underlie the above engineering task :

1. Clinical Requirement : Engineers first must understand the clinical condition for which they are making the device. What is the receiver's deficiency? What is his health condition, height and weight?

2. Functional Requirement : What is the function of the device? Where will it be applied?

3. Bio mechanical Requirement : What is the biomechanics of the device when installed into the receiver's body, given a choice of coupling? What are the stresses, forces, energy conditions?

4. Cosmetics : Does it look acceptable? Like anything else, individual preference of a product often hinges on how it looks and the psychological impact it has on the user.

These days, assisting devices use state of the art technology with much importance given to the materials side of things for safety and injury prevention. Devices now use carbon fiber for strength and bio compatible items like titanium bolts for socket attachment. Advanced manufacturing schemes are employed to produce the tight tolerances needed as one of the main aims can be to try and restore proper symmetry to an asymmetric body. In the middle of all this, attempts are made to even integrate wireless electronics into the prosthesis.

Below are two examples outlining the kind of technology involved.

TWO EXAMPLES

1. BELOW THE KNEE PROSTHESIS FOR JODY CUNDY

While the aim of prosthesis to create something that matches the mechanical properties of the missing limb, it may not necessarily look like a normal limb. As an illustration, the image at the beginning of this post shows a bespoke prosthetic leg designed by Össur for UK track cycling star, Jody Cundy. Össur is a company based in Iceland and is a global leader in non-invasive orthopedics.

Jody is an amputee who lost his leg due to a deformation condition when he was three. Össur is the same company that made Oscar Pistorius' Cheetah running blades and now has helped made Jody one of the fastest track cyclists in Great Britain by designing a leg out of carbon fiber weighing a mere 600 grams.

Jody approached Össur prior to the Beijing Olympics and asked them if they would be interested in making him a custom cycling leg to compete on. They jumped at the challenge and came up with the leg that he won double gold on in Beijing and the recent world championships.

Iceross X5 Seal provides socket sealing to Jody's residual limb. Casting and donning instructions are can be read here.

The design was kept simple, using what is called a suction socket (vacuum suspension) featuring a Össur X5 seal in liner. Advanced textiles improve durability and elasticity, and adhesion is upped by 25%. Instead of a foot attached to the base, there's a shaped piece of carbon which is moulded into the socket and finished off with a cycling cleat attached to the bottom. The cleat is a standard Shimano SPD-SL to engage with the pedals. Also observe that it is in the same place it would be if Jody was wearing a footed leg with a cycling shoe, so he doesn't create any issues with the bio mechanics of the real part of his leg. Finally, the entire product was given an aerodynamic profile for drag reduction.

In this interview given to BBC, Jody shows off his custom made leg. Clicking on it will lead you to the BBC link. [ Do get back here and finish off the read :) ]



2. ABOVE THE KNEE BIONICS FOR RUDY GARCIA-TOLSON

I'm a huge fan of the Kona Ironman in Hawaii. What truly amazed me this year was the spirit of a double above-the-knee amputee named Rudy Garcia-Tolson from California. Just 21 years of age, he made history by becoming the first individual with such a condition to finish the 2009 Ford Ironman. For those who are not familiar with this spectacular athletic event, that's 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of time trialling and a full blown 26 mile marathon all in sequence without a break.

Rudy is able to dream and achieve in large part because of the technologies now available in prosthesis. He uses precisely selected feet from Össur to meet each activity’s needs: the Flex-Run® for track because of its flexibility and light weight and a specially made flex foot feet (see right) . He was also one of the first bilateral amputees to go bionic with two Rheo Knees. These are also Rudy's everyday, everywhere walking legs that allow him to multi-task and do the things people normally do.

Rudy has two Rheo knees, the world's first micro-processor swing and stance knee system engineered by Össur. Embedded artificial intelligence learns how the user walks and runs, and responds immediately to changes in terrain, load and speed. The knee comes with a PDA that communicates wireless to the knee via bluetooth. Click here for a technical manual.

But while all this technology sounds well and good, top level competitions are merciless in terms of rules and regulations. I guess the reasons could be many why a talented athlete such as Rudy missed the Ironman's bike leg cut-off time of 5:30 pm by just 8 minutes!

But note that I sat through the whole online recording of the Ironman by Universal Sports. Being a fan of Rudy, I was looking out for his performance. While doing so, one of the things I immediately spotted was Rudy's obvious difficulty in engaging the cleats under his artifical feet onto his bike's pedals. This was after he emerged out of the swim to get ready for the 112 mile bike leg.

While the video I recorded below certainly may not account for 8 minutes, it nevertheless shows how time can be lost when a design doesn't necessarily work as planned. It is challenging.




ADDITIONAL READING AND RESOURCES :

Össur Homepage
Driven By Design : The Science Of The Paralympics
Guardian : Prosthetics Don't Give Sprinters Unfair Advantage,Research Suggests
Rudy Garcia-Tolson : Profile
Jody Cundy : World & Paralympic Champion Official Website

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Fat Smasher Promises Thinner Endurance Cyclists

In a press conference yesterday open to a few handpicked journalists, it was known that the same company that brought out the AssBlend Saddle - Apologetic Technologies - now plan on launching what may be the perfect "instant fat burning" machine in the market.

The whole idea behind it? A gross, overweight individual who didn't know what they were doing while eating all that food is only to stand in the space provided (B, shown in the picture). A second individual, perhaps the first individual's friend or family member, holds a sliding member L, pushes it with all might, thus ramming it into the person who was dreamy of losing weight for upcoming cycling season. An attached computer display shows the staggering difference between initial and final weights.

"It's going to hurt," said a spokesman for Apologetic. "But that's the small price you pay for instant results. These days, you just can't compete at top stage races without cutting down your weight. Our method is so effective, you can whistle and fit into those cycling clothes you bought in your teenage years. Oh, another perk? This way, you can also fit into petite and aerodynamic recumbent bikes."

No comments were made on the weight of the gigantic machine or the retail price.

It must be said that Apologetic is no newcomer to this niche market. More than a decade ago, the company had loaned a working prototype of the machine to James Cameron for the movie Terminator 2. The following was the famous scene where the slim and sexy T-1000 used it on his fat 800 series opponent.

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Engineering An Electrolyte Concentrate

So I was flipping through this year's NASA Spinoff Magazine today and chanced upon an interesting story.

You may know that it was common for NASA astronauts to return to earth in a pretty dehydrated state with low blood volume. Because of the lack of gravity in space, the human body apparently thinks that getting rid of excess body fluids is the right course of action, and there goes all the orange juice, root beer and other geeky stuff you drank before lift-off. This is how the human body attains homeostasis, or equilibrium with the new environment.

In space, taking salt tablets mixed with water isn't even a preferred solution because water quantity is limited up there and astronauts don't find favor with the method. So story made short : An ex-AMES Research Center physiologist named Dr. Greenleaf takes interest back in the day and designs an isotonic electrolyte formula based on a specific ratio of sodium citrate and sodium chloride. While the rest of the stuff in it was patented, it had no sugar, no caffeine, no carbs, no added color. I mean, this stuff was really salty. After 15 years of development and testing, he gives his formula called "HyperAde" to astronauts, they love it, and since then, this is being used on NASA's space missions.

This isn't all apparently. The catch? During scientific research and testing, not only did NASA validate that this stuff beats water and common endurance drinks by appreciable margins, but they also found that it leads to a "20%" increase in cycling endurance on an ergo meter. The reason was attributed to greater increase in resting plasma volume compared with other control products. Dr. Greenleaf's white paper for NASA, titled "Drink Composition and Cycle-Ergometer Endurance in Men : Carbohydrate, Na+, Osmolality" can be read here.

So how did this technology end up in the hands of Wellness Brands Inc, a Colorado based company and metamorphise into what they call "The Right Stuff"? The product was launched in June of this year. It is being sold to cyclists, runners and other endurance athletes and Dr. Greenleaf is on the company's board of directors as inventor of the item.

You may be interested in reading this snippet from the '09 Spinoff Magazine. Enjoy!

Page 1 : Click to Zoom

Page 2 : Click to Zoom

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES :

MSNBC : NASA Develops Sports Drink - For Astronauts
Cycling Tips : Hydration Fluid From Outer Space
Humor : Bike Rage And Toilet Row On The ISS

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John Bailey : Design Aspects Of The Factor 001 Bike

Image of the retail version of Factor 001. Courtesy Factor001.

Many of you may have heard recently that Beru F1 System's high tech Factor 001 has been finally launched into the market. A couple of its first releases are now available through the premium London store called Harrods. Guess the price tag. Yes, you're wrong. It's precisely 36,000 US$.

Early this year, I had blogged about the bike, outlining some of its main features in brief. However, the specifics were still anyone's guess at that time. In this post, I dig a little more into one or two aspects of the bike, one of them related to the bike's proprietary method of measuring the cyclist's leg torque. I took an interest in this aspect after reading this review from a journalist working for Telegraph. "I could see on the screen that my right leg had produced maximum torque of 85.6lb ft, my left 83.3lb ft," he wrote in that article.

Considering the above aspect, I think had precisely predicted before that this is where the future of biometrics is headed in top end bicycles. Individual leg input measurement.

So, I pressed managing director John Bailey for some details into the biometric measurement system and the price. What are some of the capabilities of this bike? Here's what he wrote to me:

"Hi Ron. The system measures true force directly in each crank. We felt this was the only correct way in which to do this as this is where the power is inputted to the machine. Clearly each leg is independent and therefore each crank has to be measured. From this we can plot push and pull left and right. More importantly this is referenced to a true measurement of crank angle (1 degree resolution) and all is transferred to a data logger and head unit display. With these parameters you can plot power distribution in many forms from simple data plots against time to complex histograms and full circle power distribution - this also allows angular velocity calculations.

These elements are vital to enable user and trainer to truly understand the rider's technique and short comings. Once the rider is equipped with this data he can tune his pedaling stroke to such a degree that he will hopefully eliminate negative torque from his lifting leg on the reverse rotation of the cranks.

We will in the next couple of weeks have the website live and hope to display some of the plots to give everyone an idea of the detail available in the bike. All this data will be stored on a removable data logger and can not only be analyzed post ride but also monitored live via head unit display.

We sample the crank at 1khz and transmit the data at up to 350khz so you will miss nothing in terms of "events".

We will in due course offer 2 and 3 axis cranks for the aftermarket that will not only measure true torque but also pedal deflection in x and y axis so riders will see what kind of twist and deformation they are inducing in the crank.

All of the above is a direct derivative of our F1 sensor systems used for drive shaft torque and suspension force measurements.The system is highly accurate and offers lab spec data in the real world environment.

I'd also like to add something about the design of the bike and its price. We considered everything when putting this machine together. The trouble with convention by its nature precludes any lateral thinking. When you combine this with design rules for competition it really places a restriction on what the consumer can buy.

What we want to achieve is a new standard in design and to show what can be achieved when there are no ties to convention. All that you see in the frame is there for a reason and is completely engineering based. Once these parameters were fixed we then concentrated on the visuals.

Our bike was never intended for road race entry but for road race training and for pro riders to understand their techniques and physiology better and in a real world environment - not some stuffy lab that presents a stale and very non real environment.

If a rider can ride on a particular stage and gather so much data he will know where he is falling short.

Under the UCI regulations I believe that increased performance has all but peaked and manufacturers will struggle to make huge steps given the rules they operate in. What is clear is that the human element can always improve but requires new data collection in order to fully understand his or her own levels and where realistically improvements can be made.

Again the FACTOR001 is a training "machine" - its the ultimate in stiffness and comfort but is also a mobile lab (in Electronic specification) and that is our point. For the affluent its a real opportunity to buy something that is more than just an expensive bike. We realise this is a small market but we never intended to join the big boys in the mass markets.

We had the bike go for its first professional test ride last week with a highly respected Frenchman.The results have suggested that we have achieved 95% of our goals and indeed have set the bar. The price is high but it reflects the effort involved in the development and indeed the manufacturing techniques involved.

Its a special machine that will cater for professional teams looking for new training apparatus and indeed those affluent enough to want something different and collectible.

On a final note we intended to use FACTOR001 as a launch pad to future things. We fully intend to enter the electronics aftermarket with our systems at prices within the current high end market.

Who knows what the future holds and perhaps once people fully appreciate what we have - and there is more critical reviews of the machine - we may gain a good enough reputation to maybe consider a bespoke race legal machine that utilises everything we have learnt from this project - I hope so!

On a final final note! We also recognize that this project has been harder than we originally anticipated and we have the utmost respect for some of the more recognized brands within the industry who produce fine and well engineered machines and it is their products that have inspired us to do what we have done."

Keep up the good work, Beru F1. Like Kevin Saunders from KGS Bikes said in the comments to my first post, it is really great to see a Formula 1 company come up and shake the industry in such fine manner.

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