Before ReMotion came to life, Donaldson knew three qualities about her product that would help it reach the fullest potential to help people. According to LinkedIn and her Ted Talk, these three qualities are, “The product needs to be world-class, i.e. perform on par or better than the best products on the market; you need to be user-obsessed, understanding the ins and outs of all users and how the product gets to them; and the products should be market-driven to deliver at scale without significant donor support, and ensure the product offers value to users” (Krista Donaldson 2013).
Then the ReMotion knee was born. Donaldson designed an affordable knee to replace expensive and stiff previous prosthetic ones. Prosthetic knee replacements range from $20,000 to $1,000 to $105. “The problem with this affordable knee is the loss of functionality” (Krista Donaldson 2013). Donaldson’s target audience includes amputees living on less than four dollars a day. These families’ money is going towards the essentials to survive. Chances are if there is an accident causing a family member to lose their limb, there is not going to be enough money after the disaster repairs to afford a $1000 prosthetic one. This is where Donaldson’s idea began.
The three steps creating the ReMotion knee.
The first newer knee was developed at Stanford University where a team of students working for the Jaipur Foot Organization, the largest fitter for prosthetic limbs in the world, ran tests and came up with the very first invention called the Jaipur Knee (Krista Donaldson 2013). The first knee is designed for above the knee amputees. It is to be placed at the end of the thigh socket. The difference between the Jaipur Knee and the newest ReMotion Knee is the rounded plastic and functionality of a multi-axis bolted system. For $80, the ReMotion Knee replaces the $105 stiff, one-axis knee and helps amputees avoid the harassment for being disabled. Donaldson did not just invent a plastic, moveable knee replacement. She gave those less fortunate amputees the same opportunity as everyone else to continue on with their lives after the physical and psychological damages they faced from losing their limb.
