Odisha gets India’s first robotic machine to produce artificial limbs

Making of artificial limbs in Odisha will be now possible with installation of a robotic machine at Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR) at Olatpur in Cuttack.

The CAD/CAM based machine imported from France at cost of Rs 2.72 crore is the first robotic device in India to be functional at the country’s premier institution in the field of rehabilitation in September, said SVNIRTAR Director Dr SP Das.

Earlier, artificial limbs were made by hand, which took at least three weeks. The patients had to wait for several months for these and also had trouble with fittings. “The robotic machine has already reached the institution. Once functional, it will herald a new era in field of artificial limb transplantation and reduce the waiting time,” he said.

The SVNIRTAR has earned an unique identification in Odisha as well as in outside the state for artificial limbs transplantation and physiotherapy.

Plans are afoot to construct a 100-bed room at Rs 18 crore. “For the vocational studies, a building will also be constructed worth of Rs 16 crore,” informed the director. More than 250 patients visit SVNIRTAR outdoor for the treatment every day, said Physiotherapy department Head Dr Patitapabana Mohanty.

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