Arun Cherian: Creating High-Quality Yet Affordable Prosthetics for Amputees in India

As one of the 20 Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century, health technologies, specifically prosthetics, advanced during the 20th century and they continue to be rapidly modified and improved every day in the 21st century. Prosthetics have been able to transform the lives of millions of people around the world. However, certain groups of people have not been able to benefit from these incredible devices as much as others. Poor and non-white people are significantly more likely to have to undergo amputations, but much less likely to receive life-changing prosthetics than wealthy and white people (Rogers, 2021). One place where the gap between the demand for and accessibility of prosthetics is especially apparent is in India.

There are currently over half a million amputees living in India, with tens of thousands joining the amputee population every year (Nayyar, 2022). Despite the fact that there are free prosthetic legs available to amputees in India, adoption rates are low because these prosthetics are usually heavy and cause difficulty walking (MIT D-Lab, n.d.). Even though there are better prosthetics available, they are more expensive and often financially inaccessible for those who need them. This major problem was noticed by Arun Cherian and by combining his expertise in engineering with knowledge from his home country, he embarked on a journey to create effective prosthetic limbs at a fraction of the cost so all Indian amputees could have the ability to improve their quality of life.

In 2014, Arun Cherian, who at the time was studying the biomechanics of human locomotion to earn his PhD in mechanical engineering, went to India to help his sister prepare for her wedding (Winn, 2022). While there, he saw the cane furniture made from rattan trees that had been in his house for many years, but was able to stay flexible and stable because of its complex geometry. This caused Cherian to wonder if rattan cane could be a good material for prosthetic limbs. He spoke to local artisans to confirm that the cane could be fashioned into the shape of a leg and to determine which of the 1,200 species of cane would be the best to use (Mantri, 2017). He soon created the first prototype, obtained permission to start clinical trials, and quit his PhD to fully dedicate himself to what would become Rise Legs and later Rise Bionics. The prosthetic legs made by Rise are up to four times lighter than those of similar price, and since they are made from the cane of local forests, they give local cane artisans a sustainable stream of income (MIT D-Lab, n.d.). Rise Bionics has made devices for over 500 people to date and now has become even more inclusive, offering affordable and customizable prosthetics and orthotics not only for amputees but also for people impacted by conditions such as scoliosis, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy (Winn, 2022).

Cherian could not have succeeded in his goal without the help of other engineers and people from other fields. Even though his understanding of biomechanical locomotion allowed him to perfect the geometry of the prosthetic leg, he realized that the socket requires technical and medical expertise beyond his own (Mantri, 2017). His original team consisted of him, a technician, a prosthetist, and a cane artisan. Later, Rise Bionics began receiving help from many organizations, including the Association of People with Disability in Kamanahalli, MIT, and the International Red Cross. With this collaboration, the dream of creating light, effective, and affordable prosthetics for all who need them was able to become a reality.

Arun Cherian’s story demonstrates the importance of having diverse experiences and backgrounds in engineering in that an engineer who did not have knowledge on biomechanical locomotion and who was not familiar with the rattan trees abundant in southern India would not have been able to come up with such a brilliant solution for creating light yet affordable prosthetics. Additionally, the contributions to Rise Bionics provided by people of varying expertise, from local artisans to medical professionals, displays how diverse perspectives are needed in engineering as each field is able to bring something to the table that engineers cannot. With the input of diverse perspectives, there is no limit for how many creative solutions can be thought up and how many great engineering achievements can be enhanced.