LEPROSY survivors, young people who have been involved in road accidents and diabetes patients are just some of the people whose lives are transformed each day after a visit to the Mukti Clinic.

Set up in the centre of India's chaotic and bustling city of Chennai, it not only gives hope to amputees, it offers a vital opportunity to train local staff as well as students from Glasgow.

Each year a group of fourth-year students from the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics at the University of Strathclyde's department of biomedical engineering make a trip to the clinic to share expertise and learn the job first-hand.

They come back to Scotland with a wealth of knowledge to take them through the final months of their degree.

"When the students are in Mukti they are working very hard, in a very different atmosphere to the NHS," said lecturer Dr Anthony McGarry.

"The majority of people will have amputations below or above the knee.

"Many are linked to diabetes - India, with its population of more than 1.2 billion, has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the world and it tends to affect people who are sedentary, obese and over 60.

"The other group of patients with amputations have been involved in road traffic accidents - many are young men aged between 20 and 30.

"There are wonderful medical services available in India if you have money.

"If you come from a poorer or less well-educated background it is also possible that you can fall through the net: you can have an amputation and no-one gives you a prosthesis."

The Mukti project was set up by the University of Strathclyde in 2011 to provide instruction and assist in clinical treatment.

Mukti means freedom in Hindi and the charity's slogan is: "Freedom from crutches."

Students and alumni raise funds and a group of six students, accompanied by two members of staff, travel to Chennai every year to visit the clinic.

In preparation for the next trip east in January, fundraising is already is full swing.

Students have organised ceilidhs, run marathons and one has raised more than £1000 after completing the Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours.

The relationship between the clinic and the university goes on all year, with regular Skype calls to help local staff in Chennai deal with problems as they arise.

"The biomedical engineering centre at the university and the National Centre for Prosthetics and Orthotics which is within it is one of the best schools in the world," explains Anthony.

"Many of the different standards of practice have been based on our model of teaching.

"Because Mukti is a new project we have started off by working alongside their clinicians - they don't really have any formal education in prosthetics and orthotics so what we're trying to establish is, what do they need to improve their practice?

"We're also identifying the gaps in the practice that we would consider needs to be altered or improved."

Money raised by the university's alumni association has this year bought an important piece of machinery that allows staff in India to produce prosthetic feet on site.

They cost just $4 to make and are produced from recycled rubber and tyres.

"Mukti are doing a great job with the limited resources they have. Buying them that piece of equipment has enabled us to establish a level trust with them," says Anthony.

Lady Eileen McDonald, university principal Sir Jim McDonald's wife, is the ambassador of the project and has travelled to India to visit the clinic.

"The work that is carried on at the clinic is nothing short of amazing," she says.

"The charity provides prostheses and orthoses free of charge and, although priority is given to children and young people, no-one is turned away.

"The positive impact the clinic has on life and the life opportunities of those that benefit from the provision of prosthetic limbs is quite uplifting.

"Through the university's relationship with Mukti, great opportunities are provided for our students to work in different cultures and with different technologies that can really make a difference."

n To donate to the project, visit www.alumni.strath.ac.uk/donate.

angela.mcmanus @eveningtimes.co.uk