Tweet
We, the scientific group that has refuted the claims of the IAAF,
believe that it is relevant to make the following points based on
recent commentary from the Biomch-L list regarding the CAS’s ruling
to overturn the IAAF’s decision that banned Oscar Pistorius from
international able-bodied competition:
1. The work conducted by our group was done pro bono. None of us
received compensation for our research or participation in the
hearing. The legal team selected our group from many other willing
scientists. All of us were screened and cleared for any potential
conflicts of interest by the lawyers. In addition, Rodger Kram and
Hugh Herr were judged to not have any conflict of interest by the CAS
court.
2. Our group of scientists was asked to evaluate the scientific
claims made by the IAAF that resulted in the banning of Oscar Pistorius.
3. We evaluated the claims by using data from the literature, as well
as our own data collected at Rice University.
4. As Ton has stated, this ruling applies only to Oscar and to the
Cheetah prosthetics, thus any new prosthetic running technology will
have to be re-evaluated before being allowed in IAAF competition.
5. We plan to publish the data that we have collected in a peer-
reviewed journal as soon as possible.
6. We hope that the interest in the Oscar Pistorius case will result
in a number of further studies into questions regarding the
biomechanical and energetic effects of prosthetics on human walking
and running.
Our group includes Drs. Hugh Herr, Peter Weyand, Rodger Kram, Matthew
Bundle, Craig McGowan, and Alena Grabowski.
Alena Grabowski, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Biomechatronics Laboratory
MIT Media Lab
http://web.media.mit.edu/~alenag
believe that it is relevant to make the following points based on
recent commentary from the Biomch-L list regarding the CAS’s ruling
to overturn the IAAF’s decision that banned Oscar Pistorius from
international able-bodied competition:
1. The work conducted by our group was done pro bono. None of us
received compensation for our research or participation in the
hearing. The legal team selected our group from many other willing
scientists. All of us were screened and cleared for any potential
conflicts of interest by the lawyers. In addition, Rodger Kram and
Hugh Herr were judged to not have any conflict of interest by the CAS
court.
2. Our group of scientists was asked to evaluate the scientific
claims made by the IAAF that resulted in the banning of Oscar Pistorius.
3. We evaluated the claims by using data from the literature, as well
as our own data collected at Rice University.
4. As Ton has stated, this ruling applies only to Oscar and to the
Cheetah prosthetics, thus any new prosthetic running technology will
have to be re-evaluated before being allowed in IAAF competition.
5. We plan to publish the data that we have collected in a peer-
reviewed journal as soon as possible.
6. We hope that the interest in the Oscar Pistorius case will result
in a number of further studies into questions regarding the
biomechanical and energetic effects of prosthetics on human walking
and running.
Our group includes Drs. Hugh Herr, Peter Weyand, Rodger Kram, Matthew
Bundle, Craig McGowan, and Alena Grabowski.
Alena Grabowski, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate
Biomechatronics Laboratory
MIT Media Lab
http://web.media.mit.edu/~alenag