About the Founder

1933—2005

H. Richard Lehneis, Ph.D., C.P.O. is the founder of Lehneis Orthotics and Prosthetics Associates, Ltd. His contributions have been recognized internationally for the innovation and evolution of orthoses and prostheses, benefiting his profession and countless patients with limb loss or neuromuscular-skeletal disorders or disease. He was an integral part of the Orthotics and Prosthetics profession as a teacher, mentor, researcher and inventor who held patents on eight devices as well.

Dr. Lehneis was a Consultant and Research Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU School of Medicine, and Director of Orthotics and Prosthetics at the Rusk Institute. As member of the Advisory Board of the World Rehabilitation Fund, founded by Dr. Howard Rusk, he worked extensively in the developing world providing guidance and advice for professionals serving the disabled.

As a member of several national and international professional editorial boards and societies, he is well published in over 80 articles and book chapters in six major languages, and was an invited lecturer to hundreds of national and international institutions and conferences. He was also rehabilitation-engineering consultant to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland on functional electrical stimulation in paraplegics.

Dr. Lehneis was a Fellow at Rusk Without Walls, an NYU program, which among other pursuits encourages the study of musical rhythms to treat illness and promote wellness. He earned numerous honors, including the prestigious Titus-Ferguson Award by his academy and also gained acclaim for his humanitarian efforts in Armenia.

Curriculum Vitae