Shaham Zaki, a 32-year-old Pakistani ex-pat, felt his life was over 15 years ago when he lost his right arm in a vehicle collision in Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
But a Karachi-based startup, BIONIKS, has given him a fresh lease on life by fitting him with an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered bionic arm.
Zaki, who was brought up in the KSA, had four operations in Riyadh but had to have his arm amputated to avoid the infection from progressing further.
The ex-pat stated that he attempted to find a prosthetic arm option in Riyadh, but it was too expensive. As a result, he purchased it for roughly $7,000 from the Karachi-based BIONIK, which produces orthotics and prosthetics solutions.
He revealed that he had learned about BIONIKS from the internet and visited their headquarters in Karachi during his holidays, and after examining their products, he opted to try their bionic arm.
It took about 40 days to construct the personalized arm and learn to operate it with the help of a physiotherapist.
Since he works as a junior accountant in Riyadh, the ex-pat stated the prosthetic arm has made his life much easier, and it has boosted his confidence when interacting with others.
BIONIKS was founded in 2016 by Mechatronic graduates Anas Niaz and Ovais Hussain Qureshi after the parent of five-year-old Mir Bayyan Baloch asked them to develop a tailored prosthetic limb for his son, who was born with a disability.
During the project, Niaz and Qureshi learned that AI-based prosthetics were expensive and scarce, prompting them to create BIONIKS to supply such solutions. Over 300 people have benefited from their services since then.
Via Arab News
