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Two Canadian inventions are among the 50 named in Time Magazine's Top Inventions list for 2008.

Montréal's high-tech public bike system and the Biomechanical Energy Harvester and ranked nineteenth and thirty-third respectively in Time's list.

The magazine, which hit news stands Oct. 31, featured a wide array of inventions unveiled this year -- from bullets that shoot bullets to the Chevy Colt.

The Harvester is a knee brace that draws energy from the user's stride.

The lightweight brace weighs just two pounds and can harvest between one and 13 watts of power for one minute of walking – enough power to charge a mobile phone for 30 minutes of talking.

The device is rigged with a generator, clutch, gears and a real-time control system to selectively engage and disengage power, based on need.

It works in the same fashion as an electric car, collecting kinetic energy that would otherwise be discharged as heat when the car slows down.

The Harvester collects the energy released when muscles of the body slow the knee after kicking the leg forward to take a step.

The invention originated with conversations between Max Donelan, assistant professor of kinesiology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and co-inventor Art Kuo, more than ten years ago.

"My research area involves how people walk and how to use that information to improve human health," Donelan said.

He said the idea for the Harvester came from seeing other people's work on collecting energy from the human body.

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