by Shavonne Herndon
(KYTX) - A battle is shaping up between LeTourneau University and Stanford University. Each school claims it started a program that gives underprivileged people in other countries prosthetic limbs. CBS 19's Shavonne Herndon takes a look at the controversy surrounding the LEGS program.
"For the last four or five years, we've been working in Africa, both east and west Africa, doing patient outcome studies to show if this really works."
Dr. Roger Gonzalez is talking about these artificial knees, but Stanford University is claiming it's artificial knee for folks overseas is the first.
"I'm disappointed that there has been a lack of willingness to reach that level of acknowledgement," said Dr. Gonzalez.
And then comes the news from Time Magazine, recognizing Stanford's Jaipurknee as one of the top 50 inventions of 2009.
"I was very surprised in the sense that Time Magazine was giving that credit for something that was established four or five years ago."
Stanford University says its students did nothing wrong.
"They did a search on scientific research and the literature knee and information did not show up in the scientific literature," said a spokesperson. Stanford's students did admit they were aware of the LEGS program at LeTourneau. "But, there are many many between differences between the two and they are not even close to being identical so any claims that we copied them are completely false."
Meanwhile, Dr. Gonzalez hopes this doesn't hurt funding for the program.
"Well, all projects have to get funding and it costs money to do the research in the states and implement it overseas and travel and for that we need to secure research dollars."
LeTourneau says it will not file a lawsuit, because it's not in the character of the university to do so. However, it is looking for acknowledgement of its program.
