As soon as Cider on Bordereni, eight years old, returned from the clinic with his prosthetic arm, got into a bicycle in the Jordanian refugee camp where he lives, traveling for the first time since a missile strike in Gaza took his arm a year ago.
Cider was injured while protected at the Nuseirat school, one of several Gaza schools became improvised shelters of Israeli strikes. His mother knows the bordeeni, said that Gaza’s collapsed health services and the inability of the family to leave at that time made it impossible to save their hand.
A technician verifies a prosthesis in the bioniks, in Karachi, on April 29, 2024. – Reuters
“She is playing, and all her friends and brothers are fascinated by her arm,” he said to the bordeeni on the phone, repeatedly thanking God for this day. “I can’t express how grateful I am to see my daughter happy.”
The arm was built more than 4,000 kilometers away in Karachi by Bioniks, a Pakistani company that uses an application for smartphones to take photos from different angles and create a 3D model for custom prostheses.
The CEO Anas Niaz said that the social company startup had conceded in more than 1,000 arms custom -designed within Pakistan since 2021, financed through a combination of patient payments, corporate sponsorship and donations, but this was the first time it provided prostheses to the impacted in conflicts.
Cider and Hebebat Allah, three years old, who lost his arms and a leg in Gaza, went through days of remote consultations and virtual accessories. Then Niaz flew from Karachi to Amman to meet the girls and make the first delivery abroad of his company.
The cider device was financed by the Mafaz clinic in Amman, while Pakistanis donations paid those of Habat. The CEO of Mafaz, Entesar Asaker, said that the clinic was associated with Bioniks for its low costs, remote solutions and its ability to solve problems virtually.
Niaz said that each prosthetic arm costs around $ 2,500, significantly less than $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 for alternatives made in the United States.
A technician works on computers with prosthetic limb diagram in Bioniks in Karachi, on April 29, 2024. – Reuters
While Bioniks’ arms are less sophisticated than US versions, they provide a high level of functionality for children and their remote process makes them more accessible than the options of other countries such as Turkey and South Korea.
“We plan to provide limbs for people in other conflict areas as well, such as Ukraine, and become a global company,” said Niaz.
Worldwide, most advanced prostheses are designed for adults and rarely reach children in war areas, which need lighter limbs and replacements every 12-18 months as they grow.
Niaz said they were exploring the financing options for future Sidra and Hebebat replacements, adding that the cost would not be too high.
A technician works on computers with prosthetic limb diagram in Bioniks in Karachi, on April 29, 2024. – Reuters
“Only a few components would have to be changed,” he said, “the rest can be reused to help another child.”
Bioniks occasionally incorporates fictitious characters in the prostheses of their children, such as Marvel’s Iron Man or Elsa de Disney, a characteristic that Niaz said that helps with emotional acceptance and daily use.
A technician verifies a prosthetic limb in the bioniks in Karachi, April 29, 2024. – Reuters
‘Finally hug my father’
Gaza now has about 4,500 new amputated ones, in addition to 2,000 existing cases before the war, many of them children, which makes it one of the highest children’s amputation crises in recent history, said the UN Humanitarian Agency of the UN Ocha in March.
An April study conducted by the Palestinian Statistics Office found that at least 7,000 children were injured since the Israel War in Gaza began in October 2023. Local health authorities say that more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, almost one third of them children.
The World Health Organization has said that Gaza’s health system is “on knees” with the border closures of Israel that dry critical supplies, which means that the injured cannot access specialized care, especially in the midst of waves of injured patients.
“Where it is almost impossible for professionals and health patients to meet, remote treatment unites a critical gap, making evaluations, accessories and possible monitoring without specialized trips or centers,” said Asadullah Khan, manager of the Proactive Prosthetic In Leeds Clinic, the United Kingdom, which provides artificial limbs and support for patients with drinks.
Bioniks hopes to be a pioneer in such large -scale solutions, but financing remains an obstacle and the company is still trying to form viable associations.
Cider is still adapting to his new hand, in which he now uses a small bracelet. During much of last year, when I wanted to make a heart, a simple gesture using both hands, I would ask another person to complete it. This time, she formed the form, took a photo and sent it to her father, who is still trapped in Gaza.
“What I hope is most to use my two arms to finally hug my father when I see it,” he said.
