Researchers at Wadham College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England; and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India, have been awarded a grant from the Wellcome Trust to develop affordable upper-limb prosthetic devices for use in India. The collaboration will use prototypes of the PURAK upper-limb prosthesis developed at the IISc and prepare the device for commercial manufacture. Mark Thompson, PhD, a Wadham professor in the Department of Engineering Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME) is the lead investigator of the four-year grant project, worth approximately £1 million ($1.57 million).
“The IISc, with its expertise in affordable and appropriate design, will work together with biomechanics and clinical trials experts at Oxford and with experts in commercialization at both centers,” according to Wadham College. Prostheses available in India are often unaffordable, unsuitable for sustained use, and difficult to maintain.
“This Wellcome Trust grant provides an exciting opportunity for translational biomechanics research to have a major impact on affordable healthcare in India,” said Thompson.
This story was adapted from materials provided by Wadham College.
