Beating clots while you sit: Meet SitWalker

Atul Kherde designed gadget that provides you with the benefit of walking. Helps prevent blood clots in legs that can be fatal

- Namita Shibad

Atul Kherde’s life took a serendipitous turn in 2018 when he unexpectedly reconnected with an old friend, Dr Shilpa Gosavi, during a trek in the Himalayas. A seasoned anatomist, Dr Gosavi shared a troubling pattern she had observed over two decades of dissecting cadavers.

“The veins in the legs are increasingly problematic. We're seeing more blood pooling, which leads to clots—and in many cases, that’s what causes death. One in every four diabetics in India risks developing foot ulcers that could lead to amputation. Every day in India, we witness 450 foot amputations,” Dr Shilpa said.

What could have been a casual exchange between old friends sparked deeper curiosity in Atul. Dr Gosavi explained that the main culprit behind such clots, arteriosclerosis in the leg veins, was a sedentary lifestyle.

“People sit all day—at work, at home—and barely move, especially the ankle, which plays a vital role in pushing blood back up to the heart,” she noted.

Atul, a computer engineer from Pune, had always been drawn to machines and gadgets.

“Even before graduating, I was fixing factory machines in Bhosari—soldering, lathe work, you name it,” he recalls.

What Shilpa told him on that trek lingered in his mind.

She explained the role of the body's “secret” blood pumps—the calf muscles, particularly the soleus and gastrocnemius.

“Every time the ankle moves, these muscles contract, squeezing deep veins and pushing blood toward the heart. Without that motion, blood pools in the legs. Swelling follows, then varicose veins, and eventually ulcers—especially dangerous for diabetics, as these wounds heal slowly.”

By the end of the trek, Atul had already sketched a prototype: A device that would stimulate the soleus muscle without requiring the user to walk. Soon after, he filed a patent for what he called the SitWalker.

Now to make the sitWalker