Concept to Completion
TRS Inc. was formed in 1979 by upper limb amputee Bob Radocy, who was frustrated by the limited performance of commercially-available prosthetic devices at the time.
TRS Inc. was formed in 1979 by upper limb amputee Bob Radocy, who was frustrated by the limited performance of commercially-available prosthetic devices at the time.He lost his left hand about four inches below the elbow in an auto accident in 1971.
While experimenting with all types of prosthetic devices, his time in graduate school saw him apply his engineering and biological sciences education with his design experience to create an innovative, high-performance prehensor which enabled him to be competitive with two-handed peers in any activity he chose. He called it the GRIP prehensile hand, and manufactured the first one in 1980 and with that, his highly-specialized niche company was open for business. Today, sports and recreation devices are an important division of his company.
As a consumer as much as a manufacturer and designer, TRS is not a purely business-driven company. Being his own “customer” influences everything Radocy’s company does. “I used to play a lot of soccer and I discovered that taping a tennis ball over my terminal device would help with throw-ins,” he explains. “That opened up our minds to polymers. We introduced polyurethanes into the prosthetics world through a pliable passive hand I created for sports and recreation use. And we have our own proprietary formulas for our product lines that replicate wrist action for swinging a baseball bat for example.”
For a selection of TRS’s sports and recreation products for traditional summer activities visit www.trsprosthetics.com.
While experimenting with all types of prosthetic devices, his time in graduate school saw him apply his engineering and biological sciences education with his design experience to create an innovative, high-performance prehensor which enabled him to be competitive with two-handed peers in any activity he chose. He called it the GRIP prehensile hand, and manufactured the first one in 1980 and with that, his highly-specialized niche company was open for business. Today, sports and recreation devices are an important division of his company.
As a consumer as much as a manufacturer and designer, TRS is not a purely business-driven company. Being his own “customer” influences everything Radocy’s company does. “I used to play a lot of soccer and I discovered that taping a tennis ball over my terminal device would help with throw-ins,” he explains. “That opened up our minds to polymers. We introduced polyurethanes into the prosthetics world through a pliable passive hand I created for sports and recreation use. And we have our own proprietary formulas for our product lines that replicate wrist action for swinging a baseball bat for example.”
For a selection of TRS’s sports and recreation products for traditional summer activities visit www.trsprosthetics.com.
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