Therdchai Jivacate ( th, เทอดชัย ชีวะเกตุ, RTGS: Thoetchai Chiwaket, born 1941) is a Thai

orthopedic surgeon Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

and inventor known for his humanitarian activities in providing free prosthetic limbs to impoverished amputees, and for his development of techniques allowing low-cost, high-quality prostheses to be made from local materials. The activities of the Prostheses Foundation, which he founded in 1992 under royal sponsorship from the Princess Mother Srinagarindra, have expanded beyond the borders of Thailand to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Laos, and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Jivacate has established Thailand's first and only educational institution of occupational therapy at

Chiang Mai University Chiang Mai University ( CMU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยเชียงใหม่) is a public research university in northern Thailand founded in 1964. It has a strong emphasis on engineering, science, agriculture, and medicine. It ...

. He has also created an educational programme for children suffering from chronic diseases at Maharaj Hospital in

Nakhon Ratchasima Nakhon Ratchasima ( th, นครราชสีมา, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, known as the "big four of Isan". The city is commonly known as Korat (, ), a shortened form of its name. It is the governmental seat of ...

. In 2008, he was given the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service. In addition to his work with humans, Dr Jivacate has also designed prosthetic limbs for

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

s who have been injured by

landmine A land mine is an explosive weapon, explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically d ...

Early life

Therdchai Jivacate graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University in 1965. From 1968 to 1972 he was a

resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...

physical medicine and rehabilitation Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, while from 1972 to 1975 he specialized in

orthopedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

at Chiang Mai University. One of his first technological discoveries involved manufacturing artificial legs from recycled plastic yogurt bottles. Jivacate used his own funds to simplify and adapt the process and the devices to meet local needs—for instance, designing artificial legs specifically for use by farmers working in wet fields.

Prostheses Foundation

On August 17, 1992 under sponsorship from the Princess Mother Srinagarindra he founded the Prostheses Foundation headquartered in Chiang Mai becoming its secretary-general. With further support from private donors, the royal family, and the Thai national lottery fund, the organization's activities were expanded. The Prostheses Foundation has manufactured artificial legs for more than 15,000 people, for free.

Innovations

After observing that amputees living in the remote borderlands of Thailand were among the least likely to obtain proper prosthetic limbs, Jivacate formed field clinics—that is, organized teams of specialized personnel and volunteers who manufacture prosthetic limbs in mobile workshops. The process is completed within six days; every day 150 to 300 people acquire new prosthetic limbs. Since 1992, Jivacate has organized nearly 100 mobile workshop missions including missions in Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar, the workshops of some of which eventually became permanent satellite ones. These workshops are equipped, and their technicians (many of whom are also amputees) are trained, by the Prostheses Foundation. These activities have also been expanded in Aceh,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. As of 2010, the mobile units have provided service to about fourteen thousand patients, made seventeen thousand new prosthetic legs, and repaired two thousand artificial legs. In 2009 Jivacate used a modified version of the Centre for Rehabilitation casting system to fabricate a prosthetic leg for Baby Mosha, a female elephant whose leg had been amputated after she had stepped on a landmine in 2006, when she was 7 months old. The process was featured in a documentary film titled ''The Eyes of Thailand'' directed by Windy Borman.

Awards

In 1993, one year after the establishment of the Prostheses Foundation, Dr Jivacate won the Thararom Quality Award for creative inventions from discarded materials, and was voted best rural doctor by the National Medical Association of Thailand. In 1994, the National Research Council of Thailand awarded him the third prize for the most useful medical invention. On August 31, 2008 he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service by the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

as a recognition of his work on developing artificial limbs available even for poor people.

External links

The Prostheses Foundation

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jivacate, Therdchai Therdchai Jivacate Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Therdchai Jivacate Therdchai Jivacate 1941 births Living people