IIT Madras Licenses Its 'Kadam' Prosthetic Knee to Spark Minda Foundation
IIT Madras has signed a non-exclusive technology licence with Spark Minda Foundation to take its indigenous 'Kadam' prosthetic knee from the lab to wider use, as the foundation targets 50,000 limb fitments by 2030.
A lot of good research in Indian labs stops at the prototype. Over the weekend, IIT Madras took a step to make sure one of its assistive devices doesn't.
The institute's Technology Transfer Office has signed a non-exclusive technology licensing agreement with Spark Minda Foundation (SMF), the CSR arm of automotive components maker Spark Minda. The licence covers "Kadam", a prosthetic knee developed at IIT Madras, and the aim is to take it from the laboratory to many more users. The knee is designed to improve mobility for people with limb loss, particularly on uneven terrain.
Who built it
Kadam was developed under Prof. Sujatha Srinivasan, who heads the National Centre for Assistive Health Technologies (NCAHT) and the TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT Madras. Speaking at the signing in Chennai, she said the institute was glad to work with partners who believe people with disabilities should have access to technology that gives them more independence.
Why the partner matters
The deal pairs IIT Madras's research and engineering in rehabilitation technology with SMF's product development, manufacturing and outreach. That combination is the usual missing piece. A university can design a better knee. Getting it built at scale, fitted and supported in places where people actually walk on uneven ground needs someone with a factory and a field network.
SMF has a concrete target: 50,000 prosthetic limb fitments by 2030, as part of a wider push to develop indigenous prosthetic solutions. Dr. Suresh D., Group CTO of Spark Minda Group and CEO of Spark Minda Technical Centre, said the organisation wants to use technology to build solutions with social impact. SMF Chairperson Sarika Minda called the licence a step towards an ecosystem where academic innovation, industry capability and social responsibility work together.
Worth watching
Because the licence is non-exclusive, IIT Madras can still license Kadam to other manufacturers. That is the right choice for a device like this, where the goal is reach rather than a single company's margin. It is also a useful model for Tamil Nadu's deep-tech story more broadly: the state has the research institutions and the manufacturing base, and tech-transfer deals like this are how the two actually meet.
Source: IIT-M, Spark Minda Foundation Join Hands to Scale Indigenous Prosthetic Knee — Deccan Chronicle