D-Rev (Design Revolution), a nonprofit product development company started by Stanford University, California, graduates, is preparing to test the latest version of its low-cost prosthetic knee.
D-Rev is partnering with clinics in Latin American and Southeast Asia to fit 1,000 individuals with transfemoral amputations with its ReMotion Jaipur Knee and collect data on fit, training, user reaction, and distribution. The prosthesis will initially be supplied to clinics free of charge, but once available on the market, the device’s target price will be $80. Users, however, will only pay what they can afford. D-Rev’s ultimate goal is to have it available in clinics across the globe.
“Mobility is synonymous with independence and opportunity, and they suffer, too, when a person loses a limb,” Vin Narayan, D-Rev’s product manager , ReMotion Knee, was quoted as saying in Scope, a medical blog published by the Stanford School of Medicine. “With the Re-Motion JaipurKnee, D-Rev combines user-centric design with our partners’ local expertise to give amputees around the world a chance to get back their mobility, as well as the independence and opportunities they’ve lost.”
The move to create a low-cost prosthetic knee for use in the developing world started with a graduate student project at Stanford in 2008. The initial version of the knee was field-tested in 3,500 people. D-Rev has since refined the prosthesis and launched the 1,000 Knees campaign to fund clinical trials of the latest version. Testing will begin in 2013.