Jaipur, Jan. 27: India’s celebrated Jaipur Foot, which has kept afloat hopes and aspirations among lakhs of handicapped people around the world by allowing them to walk again, may soon be complemented by a Jaipur Hand.

Researchers at Stanford University in the US and the non-government Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Sangh here are working on an artificial hand that is likely to be in production within the next six months. The Sangh is the world’s largest producer of artificial limbs.

The researchers claim the tool, which could be dubbed the Stanford-Jaipur Hand, will allow a person to perform normal functions such as eating, writing, driving, lifting weights and moving fingers.

Conventional models of prosthetic hands cannot perform multiple activities or are expensive, they said.

The Jaipur team has been interacting with Stanford researchers, exchanging information about possible designs and prototypes of the prosthetic hands intended for amputees.

“We have given them information about five types of hand joints (elbow and wrist), which are used in American, German, British, Chinese and Indian joints,” said M.K. Mathur, head of the Jaipur research team. “The goal is to help them come up with a most functional hand.”

“They have prepared rough computer models and will soon start computer simulated studies and come up with prototypes within the next three months. After that, lab trials would be held in the US, followed by field trials in India,” Mathur said.

The idea of producing the artificial hand was floated when production of a new knee-joint designed by a Stanford University team started last year at the Jaipur centre three months ago, said Dr D.R. Mehta, founder-chief of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Sangh.

“Since the new knee-joint production proved successful, we approached Stanford again and requested them to pursue the hand project to which they agreed and started work from January 4 this year,” Mehta said.

Mathur said the tool made of different varieties of polymers was likely to be the most useful, functional and cheapest among all the mechanical and electrical hands available.

Mehta said though it would be difficult to assess the manufacturing cost now, it would definitely not cross Rs 5,000.