How the Andhra Man with Calipers Helping Amputees Get on Feet with his Cheaper Prosthetics 

Palakollu: The story of Vedantam Sadasivamurthy is inspiring as he is helping thousands of amputees to stand on their own using artificial limbs. In 1981, Sadasivamurthy lost both his legs while getting down from the train. He underwent treatment for three months at the Defence Rehabilitation Centre in Pune. After the treatment, Sadasivamurthy again started walking like a normal person with the help of artificial limbs. 

Sadasivamurthy would travel to Pune every time his leg calipers would wear out. He made several trips to Pune until 1998. He did not want others to go through the inconvenience of travelling to Maharashtra city, so he set up a prosthetics manufacturing unit Chaitanya Artificial Limb Centre in Rangamannar pet. Nearly 10,000 amputees were fitted with the leg calipers at this center. They have also fitted the artificial limb to a cow which had lost its limb due to an injury. 

At this centre, the cost of artificial limbs ranges between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000. Sadasivamurthy is trying to make the artificial limbs more cost-effective. He has received several awards including the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for making cheaper prosthetics. 

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