(Artificial Legs/Limbs: & Jaipur Foot: Service Provider from Jaipur)
The Jaipur foot (or leg) is a low cost prosthetic for below the knee amputees. The foot was created by Ram Chander Sharma, under the guidance of Dr. P.K. Sethi, in 1968. It is made out of polyethylene pipes and is designed to be light weight, water-resistant, quick to manufacture, easy to fit, and durable. A Jaipur leg is only 45$ to manufacture with comparable prostheses in America costing upwards of 12,000$. The primary distributor of Jaipur legs is a not-for-profit organization called Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS). They supply prosthetics in India, primarily, but also serve 27 other countries completely free of charge.
(http://jaipurfoot.org/what_we_do/prosthesis/above_knee_prosthesis.html)
BMVSS was founded in 1975 by DR Mehta after he nearly lost his life and limb in a automobile accident. The mission of the organization is to provide artificial limbs including: legs, hands, and feet –as well as calipers, and physiotherapy– to the underprivileged. They believe, above all, that people deserve respect which is why they don’t consider what they do charity. This empathetic approach to outreach is large part of their success. By employing a patient-centric outreach model, BMVSS has been able to reach over 1.55 million people in need. Their commitment to their cause is astounding. They have possibly the lowest overhead cost for any international not-for-profit (just 4%!) because of their philosophy that all the money they collect through donations should go to the people they serve.
What surprises you? Concerns you? Interests you? What do you want to know more about?
The majority of their website seems to be dedicated to their advancement in leg prosthesis but, as someone who nearly lost mobility in parts of her hand, I’m very interested in where their hand and arm prosthesis is going. Their current partnership with Stanford on the above-elbow artificial hand is exciting, but I wonder if it will be possible to create a relatively low-tech prosthetic hand while maintaining high functionality. I also wonder if their are similar organizations to BMVSS operating in America and if so how I can become involved in them. Given our outrageous markups on mobility devices ($45 vs. $12,000) I certainly hope there are. BMVSS is an amazing company and I’m delighted by its existence in what can sometimes seem to be a very bleak world.
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