For many people with disabilities, it’s still hard to live life to the fullest.

Indonesian Association of Medical Rehabilitation Specialist Doctors (Persdosri) chairperson Luh Karunia Wahyuni said that according to Law No. 23/1992 on health, being healthy is a state in which a person lives productively, both socially and economically, by being in good mental and physical condition.

“This means that people with disabilities must also be able to live in that condition before they can be regarded as healthy,” she said during a recent discussion at the Indonesian branch office of German-based prosthetics manufacturer Ottobock in Tangerang.

At present, she said, the general consensus was that a person was considered healthy if he or she received medication or medicine.

“But what is more important, especially for people with disabilities, is therapy and exercises for their mobility as well as the availability of orthotic and prosthetic tools that can help them in their daily lives,” Luh said.

In Indonesia, Luh said people with disabilities still faced difficulties in gaining access to the much-needed orthotic and prosthetic tools while at the same time, there are also insufficient manpower and facilities to provide them with the required physical therapy.

Ottobock Asia-Pacific regional president Ralf Stuch said the company was well aware of the challenges faced by people with disabilities in Indonesia and therefore had decided to open a new branch office in the country to provide as much assistance as possible for those needing thorough and complete prosthetic services.

“We would love to collaborate with all related institutions to fix the current situation. Through our international standard products and orthotic prosthetic services, we hope this industry can grow further in Indonesia,” Stuch said.

Ottobock was founded in Germany in 1919 by its namesake prosthetist, Otto Bock, to provide services to the large number of injured and amputated veterans in Germany from World War I.

Throughout Ottobock’s history, the company has given birth to several innovations in prosthetics, including a highly adjustable linkage for prosthetic parts called the pyramid adapter and the C-Leg, a computerized knee that adaptively varies its passive resistance to suit patients’ different walking gaits.

The latest prosthetic developed by Ottobock is called the Genium. It is a bionic prosthetic which is an advancement of the C-Leg system.

Ottobock’s innovative prosthetic products have allowed amputees to live their lives as normal people do. The products enable them to do daily tasks such as walking or driving cars and sports such as soccer and running with ease.

For many people with disabilities, it'€™s still hard to live life to the fullest.

Indonesian Association of Medical Rehabilitation Specialist Doctors (Persdosri) chairperson Luh Karunia Wahyuni said that according to Law No. 23/1992 on health, being healthy is a state in which a person lives productively, both socially and economically, by being in good mental and physical condition.

'€œThis means that people with disabilities must also be able to live in that condition before they can be regarded as healthy,'€ she said during a recent discussion at the Indonesian branch office of German-based prosthetics manufacturer Ottobock in Tangerang.

At present, she said, the general consensus was that a person was considered healthy if he or she received medication or medicine.

'€œBut what is more important, especially for people with disabilities, is therapy and exercises for their mobility as well as the availability of orthotic and prosthetic tools that can help them in their daily lives,'€ Luh said.

In Indonesia, Luh said people with disabilities still faced difficulties in gaining access to the much-needed orthotic and prosthetic tools while at the same time, there are also insufficient manpower and facilities to provide them with the required physical therapy.

Ottobock Asia-Pacific regional president Ralf Stuch said the company was well aware of the challenges faced by people with disabilities in Indonesia and therefore had decided to open a new branch office in the country to provide as much assistance as possible for those needing thorough and complete prosthetic services.

'€œWe would love to collaborate with all related institutions to fix the current situation. Through our international standard products and orthotic prosthetic services, we hope this industry can grow further in Indonesia,'€ Stuch said.

Ottobock was founded in Germany in 1919 by its namesake prosthetist, Otto Bock, to provide services to the large number of injured and amputated veterans in Germany from World War I.

Throughout Ottobock'€™s history, the company has given birth to several innovations in prosthetics, including a highly adjustable linkage for prosthetic parts called the pyramid adapter and the C-Leg, a computerized knee that adaptively varies its passive resistance to suit patients'€™ different walking gaits.

The latest prosthetic developed by Ottobock is called the Genium. It is a bionic prosthetic which is an advancement of the C-Leg system.

Ottobock'€™s innovative prosthetic products have allowed amputees to live their lives as normal people do. The products enable them to do daily tasks such as walking or driving cars and sports such as soccer and running with ease.

The importance of personalized rehabilitation programs for disabled people is also one of the main points delivered by Ottobock'€™s services, according to Stuch.

A prosthetic service at Ottobock starts with a personal consultation between a patient and an in-house prosthetic expert. The expert will then personally measure the limbs of the patient to determine the size of the prosthetic to be used.

Ottobock then manufactures a prosthetic in accordance with the patient'€™s needs and afterwards, the company will provide the patient with a rehabilitation program that includes various exercises so that they can move like able-bodied people.

After the rehabilitation program is completed, Ottobock will conduct another consultation session with the patient to find out if the quality is satisfactory and if there are other complaints that need to be addressed.

Once the patient is satisfied, Ottobock will maintain routine follow-ups with the patient to see if the prosthetic needs any repairs or additional services. All prosthetics produced by Ottobock come with a five-year guarantee.

With that kind of personalized service, it is no wonder Ottobock charges quite hefty fees for amputees who want to enjoy their prosthetics.

The most advanced prosthetics have the same cost as a middle-class city car, while the cheapest ones come at a price of between 300 and 400 euros, according to Stuch.

The price tag, Stuch said, covered everything from the initial consultation process to the final phase of routine monitoring.

'€œI once used prosthetics manufactured by Chinese companies and United Kingdom companies and none of them were as comfortable as the one I have been using for the last two years from Ottobock,'€ said a client, Kevin, who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident and is currently using a
Rp 60-million Ottobock prosthetic.

Ottobock Southeast Asia managing director Praveen Chancaroen said that the company would try to find ways and schemes in order to make its products more affordable for more people in Indonesia as it developed its business.

'€œWe are currently trying to learn about the Healthcare and Social Security Agency [BPJS Kesehatan] scheme and how we can utilize it,'€ he said.

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