This branch of Para medicine is allied to both, medicine as well as engineering. Whereas the study and practice of this discipline is related more to engineering, its application is in the field of medicine. It involves the designing and manufacture of artificial structures, aids and devices, which
may replace the missing parts of the body.

THE WORK

The work done by prosthetic and orthotic engineers is both technical as well as imaginative. They design and manufacture artificial structures, which replace the missing parts of the body and thereby enable people who have lost certain limbs to carry on normal activities to the maximum possible extent.

ELIGIBILITY

Candidates, who have cleared the 10+2 or equivalent examination, with a background in science, are eligible for the training programme, which is of two to three years' duration.

INSTITUTIONS

Prominent among the various institutions offering training in prosthetic and orthotic engineering are the National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research in Cuttack, and The National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped in Calcutta. Admission to these institutes is on the basis of an entrance examination, conducted by the Rehabilitation Council of India in New Delhi. 

These courses are of two years' duration.

Diploma courses are also offered at the Department of Rehabilitation at the Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi and the Institute for the Physically Handicapped, New Delhi. Degree courses are available at the Government Medical College in Madras, Christian Medical College in Vellore and the AIIPM in Mumbai.