The 'Jaipur Foot' was developed in 1968, and has since provided an alternative and functional alternative to expensive prosthetics in the developing world.
It has been an amazing invention that has improved the lives of thousands of handicapped people in some of the poorest areas imaginable. It has helped restore dignity, independence and way of life,allowing below the knee amputees to move again and would otherwise be helpless
It was created in India, through a joint venture between a village craftsman and an orthopaedic surgeon. It costs as little as $45 to manufacture compared to artificial limbs that can cost up to $10,000. The design is virtually unchanged, consisting of vulcanized rubber over a wooden frame.
over 22,000 units are manufactured annually, restoring movement to hundreds of thousands of people in over 26 countries, helping amputees who have suffered from the effects of war, disease and land mines. Users are then able to walk almost immediately and are also able to walk on uneven ground, sit, squat and even climb trees.
I consider this the best consumer product ever, because of the simplicity of the design and the effectiveness, helping some of the most dis-advantaged individuals in some of the most adverse conditions on Earth.
Rohan
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I agree that the benefits and cost of this prosthetic are incredible but I think they could better the comfort and fit without increasing the cost too much.
ReplyDeleteSteph Tan
Nice one Rohan, prosthetic legs have put new wind in the sails of almost every amputee, maybe to much wind in some cases.. There's quite abit of heat around the issue of the Cheetah prosthetic leg and amputee athletes competing in able-bodied events. The performance of the carbon fiber foot springs the wearer down the track as fast as the name would imply. It's amazing that a machined addition to the human body can perform at such a high level. We may just see people start cutting off their own body parts just to improve on their performance?
ReplyDeleteBen P