3:00pm Wednesday 10th June 2009
By Sally Henfield
TRIBUTES have been paid to a bus driver-turned-inventor who developed an innovative hand splint now used across the world.
Brian Foote was forced to abandon his initial career as a craftsman when he damaged his hand on an angle grinder.
He turned to work on the buses and gained valuable engineering knowledge which helped him design the 'Ossy Splint' — named after his home town of Oswaldtwistle.
The splint is essentially a plastic glove with spring mech-anisms on the fingers to prevent the hand from clawing.
The device is flexible and allows the wearer to complete tasks that a conventional splint would prevent due to its immobility.
It is now used in hospitals around the world.
Mr Foote, 66, from The Straits, died at the week-end after a two-year fight with leukaemia.
He leaves his wife Pat and his two daughters, Janet and Pamela.
His twin brother Bob said: "He was always inventing things. He saw a problem and he wanted to fix it."
The Ossy Levered Outrigger Splint is widely used at Royal Blackburn Hospital.
Orthopaedic clinical specialist Judith Wood said: “Brian was a patient with us origin-ally and was provided with a splint that he modified himself. As a result, he went on to dev-elop a piece of equip-ment that is now used internationally.
“He was able to make the changes clinicians wanted by looking at everything from an engi-neering point of view.”
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