Implanting balance and hope

Victims of joint problems will tell you about the multitude of challenges and calculations involved in a simple act like standing up. As for walking, wheelchairs, walking sticks and frames are not of much use.

Over the past two decades, a new generation of active orthotic implant devices have been correcting the arthritic anomalies arising from cartilage wear and tear. In the case of the knee, the cartilage is the meniscus, a rubbery cushion which can be damaged or worn out by excessive activity, injury or age.

 

Sathish Kumar, the genial CEO of Chennai-based Invicta Meditek Ltd, the first Indian manufacturer to secure USFDA approval for a total knee replacement system, while illustrating the difficulties of offsetting contact stress at the cartilage level, holds up a silvery, lightweight joint fashioned out of chrome-cobalt alloy.