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In the NoCo

How a team of CSU engineering students designed an innovative new prosthetic foot

A Colorado State University student presents his research at the Multicultural Undergraduate Research Leadership, and Artistry Symposium (MURALS). March 28, 2025. He stand talking to another student.
John Eisele
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Colorado State University Photograph
Colorado State University senior Garrison Hayes led a team of other students who designed what they call the "Goldilocks foot." It's a prosthetic that is designed to be comfortable and perform well, while remaining affordable.

An innovative new prosthetic foot dreamed up by students at Colorado State University could offer new options to amputees and other people with limb differences.

The team behind it calls it the “Goldilocks foot” because it serves as a middle option. It’s more comfortable than cheaper prosthetics but costs less than prosthetics built for running and other competitive sports. The design team says the Goldilocks foot is especially useful for walks and light exercise.

CSU senior, Garrison Hays, worked with a team of engineering undergrads to create the design. And he drew on his personal experience: His leg was partially amputated to remove cancer when he was a kid. He spoke with Brad Turner about how he realized he wanted to make a prosthetic that was affordable, but also durable and comfortable.

A prosthetic foot sits on a table surface. The foot is gray and appears to made from a mesh of hexagons.
Courtesy Garrison Hayes
The design team behind the "Goldilocks foot" won several Colorado State University student awards for their prosthetic design.

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.
Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.
Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.