Krista Donaldson works from one simple idea - technology can improve peoples' lives. Donaldson heads D-Rev, an organization that seeks to close the gap between the health care that developed nations receive vs that of underdeveloped countries. In her TED Talk The $80 prosthetic knee that's changing lives, Donaldson discusses the motivations for a prosthetic project and her ideas for the future.
When your customer makes less than $4 a day your designs start with much different requirements. The ReMotion knee in the video started as a project when the Jaipur Foot Organization came to Donaldson and requested a better product than was currently available. She shows off a smart knee that costs $20,000 and fitted with sensors and a microprocessor, and then a titanium knee built from a simple four bar linkage and costs $1400. These aren't good solutions for the estimated 3,000,000 people every year who require new or replacement knees.
Donaldson has three guiding principles when designing new equipment. The product needs to be world class, so that every user feels they have the best functioning, most attractive equipment regardless of income level. Devices need to be user friendly, but Donaldson and D-Rev call it User-Obsessed. They design for the user and also everyone who will come into contact with the user, along with the supply chain and any devices that will come into contact with the product. Her third principle is that any new product needs to be market driven. The notion of a market means that the product needs to be sold and not given away. It should be affordable but also cost money so that the patient places value upon the item. The cost also puts more accountability on the organization building and supplying the device.
This is an older talk from 2013 but these principles still guide Donaldson and D-Rev's work today. The ReMotion Knee looked a little different at its launch in late 2015, and the company's website has a very interesting history of its six year design and development process.