Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Les Kramer, Ph.D., designed and developed a prosthetic foot that is more flexible than any other prosthetic on the market. Because of this unique prosthetic, Kramer recently was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. The actual ceremony to induct Kramer, along with seven others, was originally set for Sept. 11, 2020, at the Tampa Hilton, but it has been delayed until next year because of the uncertainty with COVID-19.

The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame honors and celebrates those inventors whose achievements have advanced the quality of life for Floridians and the country.

Kramer has essentially been an inventor his entire life. As a child, Kramer watched how his father skillfully built things, which inspired him to be creative and enter many science fairs. Two of the inventions of his youth included a robot (that chased his friend's mom across the basement floor) and a time-lapse camera, designed from a World War II German movie camera.

Kramer's prosthetic foot invention has improved the lives of many amputees. Heritage ran an article about Kramer's invention on Feb. 24, 2017. As he and his partner were designing the U.S. VA contract prosthesis, they realized that the foot was a "remarkable and unique concept."

What Kramer learned while working at Lockheed Martin Aerospace in Orlando, transitioned into the prosthetic foot design and the company he co-founded, TaiLor Made Prosthetics, LLC.

"[The prosthesis] is TaiLor Made because the foot can be tailor made to the person," Kramer told Heritage in 2017.

Today, Kramer is the vice president of Engineering and Manufacturing at TaiLor Made Prosthetics, LLC in Orlando and a board member of the University of Central Florida's College of Sciences and Nanoscience Center. His prosthetic foot design returns energy sequentially to the wearer's heel and toe, has 100 percent replacement of components, and is totally customizable. Hundreds of people, including Boston Bombing victims and Wounded Warrior amputees, have confirmed its unique performance that allows walking backwards as well as smooth action on stairs and ramps. Kramer is a named inventor on 17 U.S. patents and two foreign patents. The two foreign patents and five of the U.S. patents are for the prosthetic foot.

Upon being notified that he is a Hall of Fame inductee, Kramer said, "This is a culmination of everything I learned as a child and through professional contacts, and understanding the need for new devices. All my patents resulted from a need."