Motorica India is preparing to localise the production of selected prosthetic technologies as part of a wider strategy to make advanced upper-limb devices and digitally enabled rehabilitation more accessible across the country.
Ruslan Babintsev, CEO of Motorica India, said the company is seeking to address one of the most persistent challenges within India’s prosthetics sector: the limited availability of advanced devices and specialist clinical services outside major metropolitan areas.
Motorica currently works with more than 50 partner clinics across India and combines prosthetic components, digital fitting technologies, clinical education and partnerships with local rehabilitation organisations. India has also become an important regional hub for the company’s activities in South and Southeast Asia.
Moving beyond basic prosthetic function
Babintsev believes rehabilitation should not be limited to helping a person adapt to limb loss.
The wider objective should be to help users recover independence, confidence and the ability to return to education, employment, family responsibilities and everyday activities.
This reflects a broader change in what Indian patients expect from prosthetic care. While basic function and affordability remain essential, users increasingly want devices that provide stronger grip, improved control, greater comfort and the ability to perform a wider range of daily tasks.
For prosthetists and orthotists, this shift means that device selection must take account of more than the level of amputation.
The clinician must also consider the patient’s occupation, home environment, mobility goals, ability to maintain the device, access to follow-up care and financial circumstances.
Advanced technology only creates value when it is matched to the individual user and supported through a complete rehabilitation pathway.
More than 50 clinical partners across India
Motorica’s approach in India is based on working through a growing network of local prosthetic clinics rather than concentrating services within a small number of company-owned centres.
The company says it now collaborates with more than 50 partner clinics across the country. This model allows clinicians in different regions to access Motorica products while patients continue receiving assessment, fitting and follow-up care closer to home.
A distributed clinical network could help address the geographical imbalance within India’s prosthetics sector, where access to advanced devices and experienced professionals is often concentrated in large cities.
However, successful expansion will require consistent clinical protocols, technical training and after-sales support across every partner location.
For upper-limb prostheses in particular, outcomes depend heavily on:
- Appropriate patient assessment and selection.
- Accurate socket design and suspension.
- Electrode positioning for myoelectric systems.
- User training and occupational therapy.
- Device programming and calibration.
- Maintenance and access to replacement parts.
- Long-term clinical follow-up.
Without these supporting services, even a sophisticated bionic hand may provide limited practical benefit to the user.
Smartphone-based digital prosthetics
One of Motorica India’s main initiatives is its Digital Prosthetics programme, which uses smartphone-based photogrammetry and three-dimensional modelling to support prosthetic fitting.
Photogrammetry involves capturing multiple images of the residual limb and processing them into a three-dimensional digital model. The model can then be used as part of the design and fabrication workflow.
Motorica says the approach can simplify parts of the fitting process, improve precision and allow clinics to provide digitally supported prosthetic care more efficiently.
For India, the potential benefit lies in scalability.
A smartphone-based system may allow clinics with limited access to expensive dedicated scanners to begin adopting digital workflows. Clinical information can also potentially be shared with central design or production teams without requiring every patient to travel to a major manufacturing facility.
Digital systems could support:
- Faster capture of residual-limb geometry.
- Remote collaboration between clinicians and designers.
- More consistent digital records.
- Easier duplication or modification of previous designs.
- Centralised production supporting regional clinics.
- Reduced dependence on transporting physical casts.
Digital scanning does not remove the need for clinical expertise. A three-dimensional model captures external shape, but it does not independently identify sensitive anatomy, pressure-tolerant areas, skin conditions, muscle activity or the patient’s functional needs.
The prosthetist must therefore remain responsible for assessment, design decisions and evaluation of the finished prosthesis.
Product range spans advanced and lower-cost devices
Motorica India is seeking to offer products across multiple price levels rather than focusing solely on premium bionic technology.
The company’s advanced upper-limb portfolio includes the Manifesto Hand, which Motorica says can support loads of up to 15 kilograms, offers 360-degree wrist rotation and can interact with touchscreen devices.
The Indy Hand is positioned as another bionic option and is reported to support loads of up to 10 kilograms.
Motorica has also introduced the Nova Fortix prosthetic hand for the Indian market.
According to Babintsev, the Nova Fortix combines myoelectric control, a lightweight design, a reliable grip and a reported load capacity of up to 12 kilograms. It is intended to provide a more affordable option for users who may not be able to access premium multi-articulating technologies.
A broad portfolio could help clinicians prescribe devices according to individual requirements rather than forcing every patient into either a basic mechanical solution or a high-cost bionic system.
Price, however, is only one component of affordability.
The total cost to the patient may also include:
- The prosthetic socket.
- Clinical assessment and fitting.
- Occupational therapy and user training.
- Batteries, chargers and accessories.
- Repairs and servicing.
- Replacement gloves or cosmetic coverings.
- Travel to specialist centres.
- Future socket replacement.
Transparent life-cycle costs will be important as more advanced upper-limb technologies enter the Indian market.
Local manufacturing planned in India
Motorica plans to localise the production of its most popular and in-demand products in India.
Babintsev said domestic production could reduce costs and improve access by shortening supply chains and making devices more readily available to clinics and patients.
Local manufacturing could also improve access to servicing and replacement parts, which is a major consideration for electronic prostheses.
When imported devices require repairs, users may face delays while components are shipped internationally or assessed by an overseas service centre. For someone who depends on a prosthesis for work or daily living, a prolonged repair period can have a significant effect on independence.
Manufacturing and technical support within India could provide:
- Shorter delivery times.
- Lower freight and import-related costs.
- Faster repair turnaround.
- Improved availability of replacement parts.
- Local technical employment.
- Greater adaptation for Indian users.
- Opportunities for collaboration with Indian clinicians and engineers.
The success of localisation will depend on whether it includes only final assembly or extends to component manufacturing, software support, quality control, testing and product development.
Meaningful localisation should also involve building domestic technical skills and establishing the capacity to maintain the devices over their full service life.
Training clinicians in advanced systems
Motorica has developed partnerships with organisations including Mobility India and the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities.
These collaborations have included practical workshops and training intended to give clinicians experience with advanced prosthetic systems.
Professional education is essential when new bionic and digital technologies enter the market.
Upper-limb prosthetics requires close coordination between prosthetists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, physicians, engineers and the patient. Clinicians need to understand not only how to fit and program a device but also how to assess whether it is appropriate for a particular user.
Training should include:
- Myoelectric signal assessment.
- Electrode placement and troubleshooting.
- Socket fabrication for electronic devices.
- Prosthetic hand programming.
- Functional task training.
- Battery and charging management.
- Device cleaning and maintenance.
- Outcome measurement.
- Recognition of situations in which a simpler device may be preferable.
A successful bionic fitting is not defined by whether the hand moves during a demonstration. It should be measured by whether the user continues wearing the device and gains meaningful functional benefits in daily life.
Optical sensors and the Omni Hand
Motorica is also promoting the Omni Hand, which the company describes as a bionic hand using optical sensor technology.
Traditional myoelectric prostheses generally use surface electrodes to detect electrical activity generated by muscle contractions. The prosthetic controller interprets these signals and converts them into movements of the terminal device.
Motorica says the Omni Hand can additionally detect subtle changes in tissue movement and blood flow. The company claims this allows the system to recognise intended or “phantom” gestures and translate them into prosthetic hand movements.
According to Babintsev, the system is designed to adapt to the individual user over time, potentially improving responsiveness and accuracy.
The technology reflects the wider development of more adaptive human-machine interfaces in prosthetics.
However, independent clinical evidence will remain important when evaluating new control systems. Key questions include whether the technology improves reliability during daily use, reduces training time, works across different residual-limb presentations and remains effective under changing environmental conditions.
Research into sensory feedback
Motorica is also undertaking research into sensory feedback systems.
Most commercially available prosthetic hands allow the user to control movement but provide little or no direct sensation from the device. Users often rely on vision to judge grip strength, object position and whether the prosthetic fingers have made secure contact.
Sensory feedback research aims to return information to the user through methods such as pressure, vibration, electrical stimulation or other interfaces.
Babintsev said Motorica is exploring how these systems could support more natural interaction with a prosthesis and potentially contribute to efforts to reduce phantom limb pain.
Restoring reliable sensation remains one of the most complex challenges in upper-limb prosthetics. Future solutions will need to demonstrate that feedback is intuitive, comfortable, repeatable and useful during real activities rather than only under laboratory conditions.
AI and connected rehabilitation
Motorica expects the next generation of prosthetic technology to combine artificial intelligence, robotics, sensor systems, neural interfaces and digital rehabilitation.
These developments could allow prostheses to become more adaptive to the individual user.
A connected device may eventually be able to record usage patterns, identify control difficulties, support remote programming or help clinicians monitor rehabilitation progress.
Digital rehabilitation tools could also guide users through training exercises between clinical appointments and allow therapists to review performance remotely.
For India, connected care could be particularly useful where patients live far from specialist centres. However, remote monitoring must be introduced with appropriate safeguards around patient consent, cybersecurity, data ownership and clinical responsibility.
The objective should not be to replace the prosthetist or therapist with software. Digital tools should help clinicians extend their reach while maintaining safe, individualised care.
Affordability must include long-term access
Motorica says its Indian strategy is based on offering a wide portfolio at different price points, providing devices at lower costs than some alternatives and eventually producing selected products locally.
These measures could expand access, but affordability should be assessed across the full life of the prosthesis.
A device that is initially inexpensive may become unaffordable if repairs, batteries or replacement parts are difficult to obtain. Similarly, a premium device may represent poor value when its capabilities do not match the user’s actual needs.
India’s P&O sector therefore needs clearer discussion around total cost of ownership and expected service life.
Patients and clinicians should understand:
- What is included in the purchase price.
- The duration and conditions of the warranty.
- Expected battery life.
- Typical servicing requirements.
- Repair turnaround times.
- Availability and cost of spare parts.
- Whether software updates require additional payment.
- What happens when a product is discontinued.
These questions will become increasingly important as electronic and digitally connected prostheses reach a larger patient population.
Building an integrated prosthetics ecosystem
Babintsev argues that sustainable assistive technology companies cannot operate in isolation.
Manufacturers need partnerships with clinicians, rehabilitation professionals, universities, hospitals and other healthcare providers. He believes ecosystem development is as important as the underlying technology.
This is particularly relevant in India, where the quality and availability of prosthetic services can vary substantially between regions.
A stronger national ecosystem would connect:
- Prosthetic and orthotic education programmes.
- Clinical service providers.
- Component manufacturers.
- Rehabilitation hospitals.
- Occupational and physical therapists.
- Disability organisations.
- Engineering and research institutions.
- Government procurement programmes.
- Insurers and healthcare-financing organisations.
Such an ecosystem would make it easier to evaluate new technologies, develop suitable training, gather outcome data and ensure that devices continue to be supported after delivery.
Technology must deliver practical outcomes
The development of intelligent prostheses is likely to accelerate as artificial intelligence, miniaturised sensors and advanced manufacturing become more widely available.
Yet technological sophistication should not become the only measure of progress.
The real test is whether a prosthesis allows a person to perform meaningful activities more independently, comfortably and reliably.
A multi-articulating hand may be technically impressive, but it must also be durable, repairable and suited to the user’s lifestyle. A smartphone scanning system may improve efficiency, but it must still produce a socket that is safe and comfortable.
Motorica India’s planned localisation, digital prosthetics programme and expanding clinic network show how international technology companies are adapting their strategies to the realities of the Indian market.
For India’s prosthetists and orthotists, the opportunity is to ensure that this next generation of devices remains grounded in sound clinical practice and measurable patient outcomes.
- IndiaMedToday: Interview with Motorica India CEO Ruslan Babintsev
- Motorica
- Mobility India
- Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
- Rehabilitation Council of India
- International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
- WHO standards for prosthetics and orthotics
- WHO: Assistive technology