Jaipur Foot – The symbol of India for Humanity
The Jaipur Foot was originally developed in the city of Jaipur, India in 1968 by Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, an orthopedic surgeon, and Ramachandra Sharma, an artist and artisan who is better known as Masterji. Sethi was working at the Sawai Mansingh Medical College in Jaipur, where he was helping orthopedic patients. While working there he encountered many problems with the prostheses that were available at the time.
The one’s that were available were all developed in the Western world, and were incompatible to Sethi’s patients for several reasons. Many of them were made out of materials such as carbon fiber, making the prostheses cost thousands of dollars, meaning that only the wealthiest of patients could afford them. Furthermore, there was also a cultural mismatch. In India and many other countries in Asia, Africa, and South America, there is a ‘barefoot culture’, where people work, sit, eat and sleep on the floor. Farmers also work in water filled rice fields. Western prostheses like the SACH (Solid Ankle Cushioned Heel) Foot however, require the wearing of a shoe over it.
At the hospital Sethi met Masterji, and together they developed an indigenous alternative prosthesis. With only basic artisan tools they developed the Jaipur Foot, made out of a rubber core, with a wooden ankle and an aluminum shank, wrapped in a layer of vulcanized rubber. In 45 minutes they could develop a prosthesis that could last up to five years, and would only cos about $45 dollars to produce.
Furthermore, their Jaipur Foot was much more suited to the environment of India. The vulcanized rubber made the foot waterproof, and the rubber core allowed for much greater mobility, allowing the patients to squat and sit cross-legged, and therefore work on the floor. A 2004 report (link) of the International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) found that the Jaipur Foot was technically much better than the SACH Foot that it competed with.
The second reason why the Jaipur Foot took of was because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 80s. Out of several different options, the International Red Cross chose the Jaipur Foot as the cheapest and most cost-effective prosthesis for victims of landmines. Nowadays, over one and a half million people have benefited from the Jaipur Foot.
Because of the successes of the Jaipur Foot, Dr. Sethi was awarded with the Magsaysay award in 1981, also known as the ‘Asian Noble Prize.’ Time magazine also hailed the Jaipur Foot as one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century in a 1997 article.
To bring attention to the successes of the Jaipur Foot, the Science Museum first collected the object together with a few others for their exhibition ‘Illuminating India: 5000 years of Science and Innovation’, which ran from October 2017 until April 2018, afterwards the Jaipur Foot of the Syme’s amputee got its spot in the permanent exhibition because of its sheer significance.
