DRDL, AIIMS Bibinagar unveil advanced carbon fibre foot prosthesis

DRDL and AIIMS Bibinagar have developed an affordable carbon fibre foot prosthesis for active users, delivering world-class performance at under ₹20,000—far cheaper than ₹2 lakh imported models

Hyderabad: Researchers from AIIMS Bibinagar, in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), DRDO, have developed an indigenous, cost-effective, advanced carbon fibre foot prosthesis.

The prosthesis was unveiled on Monday by DRDL Director and Distinguished Scientist Dr G A Srinivasa Murthy, along with AIIMS Executive Director Dr Ahanthem Santa Singh. According to officials, the foot prosthesis has been biomechanically tested to bear loads of up to 125 kg with a sufficient factor of safety.

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Designed for highly dynamic K3-level active users, the prosthesis offers high performance at a significantly lower cost. With three variants available to accommodate users of different weight categories, the foot delivers performance comparable to international models while remaining affordable and accessible to a larger segment of the population.

The device is expected to cost less than Rs 20,000 during mass production, a fraction of the current market price of imported models, which can cost up to Rs 2 lakh, a press release stated.

The development of the prosthetic foot was made possible through joint efforts of DRDL scientists, industry partners, and medical experts from AIIMS Bibinagar.