Putting amputees back on their feet
Manama : A Jordanian philanthropist is inviting Bahrain investors to help rebuild the lives of amputees, including victims of war.
Mohammed Ismail has received several awards, both regionally and internationally, for inventing the ‘SwissLeg’ - a structurally robust artificial leg made of a patentable polymer mix.
He plans to use SwissLeg to help scores of people who has had their legs amputated, especially the financially backward, to have a better life. He works at his centre in Jordan but spends a lot of time in war torn Syria and occasionally travels to Bahrain and the GCC.
According to Ismail, SwissLeg is affordable and a blessing to amputees in the developing world.
The comfortably fitted prosthetic legs combine an innovative design, a simple and fast manufacturing process using readily available, light, and durable materials.
Since the manufacturing process is fast and innovative, the patient can literally walk out of the workshop the same day they go for a fitting!
The invention has won him the Fidelity Award in Switzerland, Arab Health Award, MIT Pan Arab Award and many more.
“I want to restore lost limbs and lost smiles,” he told DT News.
“For me it is not enough that they can walk. I want to help them run. It is a big dream because people who have spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on some products are still not able to walk. Meanwhile I make my product with just a thousand dollars and help them to run.”
“As the war planes continue sky bombing, several people lose their lives and many lose their limbs,” he said
“I work on the ground to restore their ability to run and restore their life - this is my mission.”
Meanwhile Ismail explained that his company was not entirely a charity. He was in Bahrain looking for investors who would like to do a noble business that saves lives.
“We are not entirely a charity or a business - we are somewhere in between.
“It is a social enterprise and we need to expand our business in order to reach millions of people with minimum cost. We just need to survive, we do not need to make huge profits.”
He explained that though his priority was to work in war torn areas of Syria and Iraq, he was also happy to spend time in Bahrain and the GCC when invited.
“In the GCC, the patients are paying huge amounts of money but they are not getting what they need. Recently I met a businessman from UAE who had sought treatment in several Western countries and spend over $200,000. “Yet the products were ineffective and he was still unable to take even a single step. I explained to him about the SwissLeg that costs just $1000 and that it would not only let him walk but run too! He was completely taken aback.” Ismail believes that there are no other products globally that is in par with the SwissLeg.
“The prosthetics available currently in our price range are of very low quality and does not work as expected.
There is no product anywhere in this price range which improves an amputees’ life like ours do.” However the prosthetic legs are available at $1000 only in war torn areas.
“I am selling it for such a low price in these places because of the conditions there. But in countries like Bahrain and the GCC, I will have to charge more.
“The prosthetics available currently in our price range are of very low quality and does not work as expected.
There is no product anywhere in this price range which improves an amputees’ life like ours do.” However the prosthetic legs are available at $1000 only in war torn areas.
“I am selling it for such a low price in these places because of the conditions there. But in countries like Bahrain and the GCC, I will have to charge more.
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