Sana'a - Saba:
The General Authority for Science, Research, Technology, and Innovation recently designed and manufactured a more advanced prototype of an artificial knee using reverse engineering based on a German model.
Dr. Abdulaziz al-Houri, the Authority's Vice Chairman, explained to the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) that the Authority delivered the prototype to the Prosthetics Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Health, for testing and feedback. These feedback will be incorporated and the current product modified accordingly.
He added, "After integrating the feedback and modifying the product, the mass production of the artificial knee will begin, in accordance with the Center's request and based on a specific mechanism developed by both parties. This mechanism will contribute to providing the product at the lowest cost compared to its current price of approximately $700, thus achieving the Authority's goal of serving the community."
Al-Houri considered the implementation of the project to develop and localize prosthetic limbs using advanced technology a qualitative step toward achieving self-sufficiency in this vital humanitarian field.
He emphasized that localizing and manufacturing the artificial knee locally will have a positive impact on other prosthetic products. Al-Houri pointed out that the Authority will not stop at localizing this product, but will move to the field of manufacturing plates used in the treatment of upper and lower prosthetic limbs, which are also very expensive and are imported annually at exorbitant prices.
He continued, "When the Authority is able to localize this complex technology, it will be able to manufacture any other product in a simple and easy manner."
Regarding the positive impact of localizing the prosthetic limb industry, the Vice Chairman of the Science and Innovation Authority stated that localizing and producing the artificial knee locally will have a positive impact on the national economy by reducing its costly and large import bill.
Al-Houri also addressed the Authority's efforts in this regard and its commitment to bridging the gap between reality and need on the one hand, and research and education on the other.
He said, "In order to bridge the existing gap, we were keen to localize the prosthetic knee, relying on the latest models of prosthetic tools used as replacement limbs. We did not start from scratch, but rather jumped to adopting the latest model of the prosthetic knee, the German model, which was taken, copied, and produced locally. It is considered a more advanced, modern, more widely used, and more expensive model. This is a very advanced step that will pave the way for us to move forward in the next stages in the field of prosthetic limb manufacturing technology."
Regarding the initial beginnings of the project idea, Dr. al-Houri said, "We received memos from the Wounded Foundation, the Limb Center, and the Disabled Fund stating that they face significant difficulties in providing prosthetic limb products and are spending very large sums to provide them. They also stated that there are many suppliers in the local markets competing to provide them, but their competition has not contributed to reducing costs; rather, it has increased them, making prosthetic limb products expensive and making them very difficult for the poor, destitute, and those with limited income."
Al-Houri continued, "Therefore, the Authority conducted a recent study to keep pace with advanced technology in the field of prosthetic limb design and manufacturing, thus bridging the gap between reality and need on the one hand, and research on the other."
He pointed out that the draft study prepared by the Authority included identifying the types of prosthetic limbs that could be manufactured locally and incorporating advanced technologies to serve thousands of people with disabilities in the country.
Al-Houri noted that the project study conducted by the Authority focused on assessing the current situation, identifying technical gaps, and how to leverage reverse engineering tools in the design and manufacture of prosthetic limbs. The application work then began, including cloning the German prosthetic knee and producing it locally.
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