Making artificial limbs for amputees

2015-06-17 20

Because each patient and his or her amputation are unique, each prosthetic limb must be custom fitted and then built. This is the task of a prosthetist, who specializes in the fabrication and fitting of prosthetic limbs. Because prosthetists work to interface artificial devices with the human body, they need a wide range of skills in areas such as engineering, anatomy and physiology.

The design and fabrication process consists of several different steps and begins with a precise measurement process later used to design the prosthetic limb. If possible, a prosthetist begins taking measurements before the patient's limb is even amputated, so that the fabrication process can get started. For example, detailed measurements of the patient's body are taken to help correctly size the prosthetic limb.

Artificial Limbs can bring healthy and positive change in the lives of all those who had been deprived from living a comfortable and normal life due to loss of their body organs.

The manufacturing process of the foot. Each craftsperson makes 5 to 6 feet per day. They work a 6 day week and the majority of them are amputees or affected by polio themselves. Various rubber and wooden pieces are used to construct the foot before it is put into a die that gives it the realistic appearance.

Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is the world's largest organisation serving the disabled. This NGO provides all its assistance, including artificial limbs, calipers and other aids and appliances totally free of charge.

BMVSS was registered as a society under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act on March 29, 1975 (vide registration number 261/1974-75). It has its headquarters at Jaipur (India). It is a pan-Indian organisation having 22 branches, spanning Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) to Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Ahmedabad (Gujarat) to Guwahati (Assam). Metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Varanasi, Patna, etc also have limb fitment centre