THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANTLY SAFER, LONGER-WEARING CRUTCH TIP THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF ITS HANDICAPPED USERS.

THIS PROJECT WILL RESULT IN A SIGNIFICANTLY SAFER, LONGER-WEARING CRUTCH TIP THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF ITS HANDICAPPED USERS. THE ""SURE-FOOT'' WILL BE A HIGHLY MARKETABLE PRODUCT THAT WILL ENABLE RICHMOND COMBINED ENTERPRISES TO EMPLOY AND TRAIN ADDITIONAL HANDICAPPED WORKERS. THE ""SURE-FOOT'S'' UNIQUE CONFIGURATION AND INTERNAL PIVOT ASSEMBLY AUTOMATICALLY LEVELS ITS LARGE BASE FLAT AGAINST ALL SURFACES ^ EVEN AT FREQUENTLY APPLIED ACUTE ANGLES THAT BRING ONLY 15% OF THE CONVENTIONAL TIP'S EDGE IN CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. BEFORE THE ""SURE-FOOT'' IS MARKETED, HOWEVER, PHASE I RESEARCH MUST 1.RECONFIGURE IT TO ELIMINATE ITS TENDENCY TO CATCH UNDER OPEN DOORS, 2.DESIGN A NEW PIVOT ASSEMBLY THAT WILL NOT JOLT THE USER AND CAUSE DISCOMFORT, AND 3.IDENTIFY OPTIMAL COMPOUNDS THAT ACCOMMODATE THE ""SURE-FOOT'S'' RELATIVELY COMPLEX MOVEMENTS WHILE MAINTAINING DUR-ABILITY PHASE I RESEARCH WILL ALSO CREATE A FIXTURE TO TEST EVOLVING AND FINAL PHASE I PROTOTYPES AS A MODEL INSTRUMENT FOR EXTENSIVE TESTING IN PHASE II. ALL PHASE I RESEARCH WILL BE INFORMED BY A BACKGROUND STUDY ON PROSTHETIC DEVICES AND THEIR USES, WHICH, WITH A REVIEW OF MARKET-RELEVANT INFORMATION, WILL HELP ARTICULATE THE TESTING AND MARKETING RESEARCH OF PHASE II.