Page 23 - Status Report

The Context

The loss of a limb through amputation following
a mishap or for medical reasons has a drastic
effect on the victim. If the victim is also the main
breadwinner in a family, as is frequent in India,
the impact on dependents can be even greater.
Providing victims with a prosthetic limb and
rehabilitation at an early stage can boost their
chances of regaining their ability and returning
to productive work. However, prostheses are
either not affordable for the large majority of
the Indian population or are unsuitable for
sustainable use and maintenance. Over 1.9
million people in India are above-the-knee
amputees and are unable to live productive
lives. With 77% of India’s population living
under $2 a day, amputees rarely receive
rehabilitation and have no access to quality
prostheses.

The Initiative

The team has developed the ReMotion Knee i.e. a high-
performance, low-cost prosthetic knee joint for above-
knee amputees that address problems seen with prosthetic
clinics - successful fitting, follow-up and reporting of
amputees. The ReMotion Knee is polycentric i.e. it has a
changing axis of rotation that allows the user to bend the
knee comfortably. The goal for the ReMotion Pilot Program
is to become a global model of the delivery of high-
performance, affordable medical products targeting low-
income patients. This partnership will place India and the
U.S. at the forefront of affordable quality medical products
design and implementation and is the first step in global
scaling and commercialization of the ReMotion Knee.

The Outcome

The ReMotion Knee was launched for sale in the U.S. in December 2015 and in India is February
2016. A total of 313 units have been sold in more than 17 countries since December 2015.
The product has received CE Mark and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Certification. The
Innovators have also since received additional funding from the Wellcome Trust, Newmans’
Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Status Report 23