Jaipur Foot Artificial limb

Website: http://www.jaipurfoot.org

Description: Effective, lightweight, versatile and realistic artificial lower limb. The Jaipur foot costs only $35 or less in India , though it would cost thousands in Western countries.

Why: The Jaipur foot is a light weight, low-cost, durable, waterproof and effective artificial prosthesis. Those who wear it can run, climb trees and pedal bicycles--and its low price. The inventors, Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, an orthopedic surgeon, and a renown artisan Ram Chandra addressed the needs of a realistic barefoot limb that was comfortable enough to walk an average of 6 miles a day, and flexible enough to squat, or sit cross-legged. They are also able to be fitted to a patient in just one day due to their minimum medical supervision requirement... and cost less than $50. They exceeded their goals. While a prosthesis for a similar level of amputation can cost several thousand dollars in the U.S., the Jaipur foot costs $35 in India. Sublimely low-tech, it is made of rubber (mostly), wood and aluminum and can be assembled with local materials. In Afghanistan craftsmen hammer the foot together out of spent artillery shells. In Cambodia, where roughly 1 out of every 380 people is a war amputee, part of the foot's rubber components are scavenged from truck tires. The Jaipur foot, named for the town where it was designed, is flexible along multiple axes, which allows natural movement of the foot. The Jaipur foot technology is based on traditional craft using small local production methods, and has already helped over 900,000 amputees in developing and landmine-affected countries. The result is a cost effective limb that is nearest to a normal human foot, not only in appearance but in functions also, all at a remarkable feasible cost.