IN MEMORIAM
Anthony Staros, a founder of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) and the Rehabilitation Engineering Society (RESNA) died in New York City on July 20.  He was 85.

Staros was the third President of ISPO and designed the original logo of the organization.  He was best known for his work with the U.S. Veterans Administration in the development of devices to assist persons with disabilities.  He was Director of the VA Prosthetics Center and the VA Rehabilitation Engineering Center.  Upon his retirement, Staros continued his work as a consultant specializing in international rehabilitation with the World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF). 

He founded the VA Prosthetics Center in 1956 as the first fully comprehensive rehabilitation technology center in the world.  The Center’s work, during the years of his oversight, included innovations in prosthetics, orthotics, pedorthics, wheeled mobility and assistive technology.  Included were research, development, testing, evaluation, training and clinical care programs.  The Center pioneered the development of devices using thermo-molding, titanium alloys and carbon fiber composites.  Under Staros’ leadership, the Center also contributed to early developments in wheelchair design, promulgating standards for wheelchair lifts and developing specially adapted powered wheelchair controls.  They also developed environment-control systems for quadriplegics.

Staros also established the VA’s first training programs for its own clinicians and rehabilitation counselors and founded the publication, Bulletin of Prosthetics Rehabilitation, which is now the Journal of Rehabilitation Research. 

His international work included consultations in Denmark, Japan, Kuwait, Egypt, Israel, India, Argentina, Colombia, China, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Nigeria, Poland, Cyprus and Mexico.  In recent years he was a major consultant for WRF efforts in such countries as Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Vietnam and Uganda.

Staros authored over 120 major publications on prosthetics, orthotics and other assistive device concerns and participated in the development and conduct of many national and international workshops and conferences on these subjects.

He earned a BSME and an MSME and studied at MIT, Cornell, Stanford and Hofstra. He served in the US Marines in World War II as a First Lieutenant with the Infantry and Aviation Logistics section.

Anthony Staros leaves his wife, Frances; his two sons, Philip and Paul; his daughter Christian; his granddaughters Andrea and Alexandria; and his grandson Julien.

The World Rehabilitation Fund is accepting donations in his honor.  For more information please contact Roberta Welz at rwelz@worldrehabfund.org. Personal condolences to Ms. Frances Staros can be sent to astaros@nyc.rr.com.