Chennai, Apr 8 (PTI) The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on Friday announced the launch of the country's first indigenously developed polycentric prosthetic knee, 'Kadam', and said it meets international quality standards while being more affordable than "comparable imported knees."

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Kadam has advantages over a hinge joint because of the multiple axes of rotation, which provide the user greater control over the prosthesis while walking and maximum knee flexion of 160 degrees to make it easy to sit in cramped spaces like buses and autos, a release from the premier technical institute said.

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It is a polycentric knee for Above Knee Prosthesis developed in association with Society for Biomedical Technology (SBMT) and Mobility India, it said.

"It is designed for durability with high strength stainless steel and aluminium alloy along with hard chrome plated EN8 pins and high fatigue life polymer bushings... it was developed by a team at TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT Madras," it said.

SBMT, which supported the development, was established under DRDO by former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam to enable indigenous medical device development. Mobility India, an NGO in Bengaluru, will mass manufacture and take Kadam to the market along with overseeing the processes of fitment and training and ensuring easy access for the users, it added.

Kadam was launched by Johny Tom Varghese, State Commissioner for Persons with Disability; Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras and Prof Sujatha Srinivasan, Faculty Head, TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development and others.

Highlighting the unique aspects of Kadam in comparison with existing products, Srinivasan said, "Functional needs, socio-economic and environmental challenges of Indian users are unique. Kadam's user-centric design takes these into account. It meets international quality standards while being 4-5 times more affordable than comparable imported knees."

Through Mobility India, extensive clinical trials have been conducted in various geographical settings.

The unique aspects of Kadam include being suitable for short/long residual limbs after transfemoral (above-knee) amputation and comes with a patented 4-bar geometry that provides stability even on uneven terrain and improved ground clearance, the release said.

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