When we met Kamal in 2008, he was 17. Energetic and smiling, he was eager to interact with us, even though we didn't speak the same language.
Kamal's Story
We had just arrived at the Jaipur Foot clinic in Jaipur, India, to test a prototype prosthetic knee. Kamal had traveled to this clinic from Agra, in the hopes of walking again.
Kamal's left leg was amputated 2 years previous due to a motorcycle accident. After the loss of his limb, he learned to use a bamboo staff like a crutch to move about. His hands were calloused and his spine crooked from carrying his weight asymmetrically. Walking with both hands on his staff, simple tasks like carrying a full pot across a room, become daunting endeavors. Kamal's need was apparent: the assistive technology to enable him to live at his full potential.
That afternoon, Kamal was testing his weight for the first time on a new prosthesis. The prosthetic leg was custom made and fitted by the Jaipur Foot Organization and incorporated their time-tested foot and socket. At the center of the leg, was the JaipurKnee we created.
Within a few hours of gait training with a prosthetist, Kamal was walking, haltingly, but walking, nonetheless, without the use of his staff. As soon as the doctor let him off, he motioned excitedly for us to follow as he traversed the uneven dirt, leaves, and stones, to show us the giant fish inhabiting the pond behind the clinic.
We left India and returned to Stanford that spring energized by our experience and enthused to put what we had learned during the trip on the table for the next round of prototyping and design.
We returned to Jaipur 5 months later, in the full heat of late summer. As soon as we arrived at the clinic, we recognized Kamal, walking about casually on his JaipurKnee, hidden under his jeans, serving lunch to the new patients--he had landed a job as an assistant, helping around the clinic. It was clear that Kamal had grown comfortable with the knee and now moved confidently and naturally.
We worked with the prosthetists and clinicians to re-fit Kamal with the latest and greatest prototype joint we had brought with us. Another young man and a young woman from southern India were also fitted with the newest design.
Today, Kamal has been wearing the JaipurKnee for nearly 2 years. He is still working at the clinic, helping to serve the over 400 new patients now wearing the JaipurKnee.
*This account was written by Eric Thorsell about his and Joel Sadler's first visits to Jaipur.
The JaipurKnee
The JaipurKnee is an innovative prosthetic knee joint that costs less than $20 us.
Features:
- High stability and range or motion
- Durability polymer design
- Low cost
- Lightweight
How it works:
Using a combination of robust polymer components and and a polycentric mechanism, the JaipurKnee mimics a natural motion human gait. It remains stable when you need it most, while allowing a natural range of motion during movement.
The engineering polymer components allow durable, lightweight load bearing joint, that can be manufactured and assembled with simple manufacturing techniques. At a fraction of the cost of existing high performance knee joints, the JaipurKnee is an extremely affordable high performance option for above-knee amputee.
The JaipurKnee's modular design is able to interface with most existing prosthetic systems, and is currently being field testing in the Jaipur Foot Clinic in India.