"Our technology is proven, we have the team in place to support it, and we are ready to transform the way that prostheses are fitted."
Stuart Mead, Chairman
Biomedical startup Adapttech today announced that it has appointed Stuart Mead as Chairman ahead of the company’s launch in the United States later this year. Adapttech’s unique technology for improving the fitting of lower limb prostheses has also been granted a decision as a Class I medical device by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
The company’s INSIGHT system, which has already undergone successful user testing in Europe, is now being used in an outcome study at two prosthetic clinics in the United States ahead of its commercial launch later this year.
Mead is the former CEO of Touch Bionics, the company that created the world’s first bionic hand, and has been appointed for his insight and leadership in the prosthetics sector. Touch Bionics was acquired by prosthetics giant Össur in 2016.
“Securing the FDA’s decision on INSIGHT is a key business milestone for Adapttech and we are now fully focused on launching in the U.S. market this year,” said Stuart Mead, Chairman, Adapttech. “Our technology is proven, we have the team in place to support it, and we are ready to transform the way that prostheses are fitted.”
“We are delighted to welcome Stuart to the Adapttech team,” said Peter Dines, COO and Head of Life Sciences & Biosciences at Adapttech’s lead investor, Mercia Asset Management. “As the company moves into its commercialization phase, we wanted to find a business leader with specific expertise in the prosthetics sector, and there are very few people in the world who are as well-qualified as Stuart for this role.”
INSIGHT combines laser scanning, wearable technology and a mobile app to make it faster and easier to correctly fit lower-limb prosthesis and monitor a patient’s entire rehabilitation process. A laser scanner creates a 3D model of the socket in less than 90 seconds; a wearable device uses sensors to gather real-time data between the residual limb and the socket to pinpoint exactly where issues are occurring; and a mobile app shows the clinician where issues are occurring in the 3D model, and also allows results to be registered and assessed at any time and in any place.
“When fitting a lower limb prosthesis, it can take weeks to achieve a final, properly-fit solution, with several appointments often required, which is inconvenient for the patient and clinician alike,” said Frederico Carpinteiro, Founder, Adapttech. “Using INSIGHT, clinicians spend less time attending to patients with limb-socket problems; technicians spend less time fitting, assessing and refitting sockets; and patients spend less time visiting and re-visiting the clinic. INSIGHT has the potential to help prosthetic facilities improve their patients’ lower limb functional mobility scores, which can help them access better prostheses from their healthcare provider.”
The completed European study, conducted at the Centro de Medicina de Reabilitação de Alcoitão in Portugal, demonstrated that INSIGHT reduced the time taken for fitting and patient evaluation when fitting residual limb sockets. The U.S. study is using clinically recognized tests and validated scales for health, function, satisfaction and pain level, and is running at two independent clinics: De La Torre Orthotics and Prosthetics in Pittsburgh, PA, and Prosthetics & Orthotic Associates in Middletown, NY.
