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EME Ă–SSUR

Investing in innovation to redefine the realm of prosthetics

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EME

Facilitating

Freedom

In 1996 I became a below the knee amputee. “I was studying Rehabilitation Science and Physiotherapy at Leuven in Belgium at the time, and decided to complete my course and pursue an orthopaedic direction. When I finished, I got involved in a European project which was focused on monitoring important physical measurements inside prosthetic legs.

Össur continues to redefine the boundaries of prosthetic possibility, investing heavily in R&D to ensure its products become accessible to everyone who needs them Writer: Tom Wadlow Project Manager: Callam Waller

“It was rather early on in my prosthetic rehabilitation that I started using one of the company’s silicone liners. I saw the ICEROSS® brand, asked my therapist what it was, and he said it originated from Iceland, which made me want to explore the connection between Iceland and prosthetics. “The company was also involved with the post-graduate study. I connected with the then VP of R&D

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AN INTRODUCTION TO ÖSSUR Established in 1971, Össur is named after Össur Kristinsson, an Icelandic amputee and prosthetist, who developed the Iceross® liner, the breakthrough silicone interface for prosthetic sockets. Today the company is a global leader in non-invasive orthopaedics and operates with a mission to improve people’s mobility through its range of award-winning products. These fall into several major categories, including prosthetics which feature a range of devices such as the world’s first complete bionic lower limb, SYMBIONIC® LEG. “On the prosthetics side we are dealing with a challenging user group,” says De Roy. “When people think prosthetics, a natural inclination is to envisage Paralympians and people running on blades, and we do have a team of inspirational athletes using our products. “But the reality is that this active segment makes up around five to 10 percent of the overall population of people who need these solutions. The mainstream group struggle with being active for a great variety of health reasons, and their needs are very different, so our challenge is to open up access to mobility for these people.” Osteoarthritis solutions form another key product category, this range including the clinically proven Unloader One®, a renowned knee brace designed to relieve the pain associated with knee osteoarthritis. Össur also produces compression therapy products which help to improve circulation and decrease swelling.

“Innovation,” he says. and asked him in 2001 if I could complete an “This is how I would describe my time at internship with the Össur to date. If you company. Thankfully look at what we did that happened, I came back in 2001 – some here, and the rest is Kim De Roy history.” of those basics are still there, but we have advanced Kim De Roy is talking about so much since thanks to new Össur. technology platforms. Now serving as the firm’s Executive “Products are more functional, Vice President of Research and Development, he has witnessed a durable and reliable than ever before, and the addition of bionics has remarkable 18 years of pioneering dramatically changed the industry development since he joined as a altogether. The user of the bionic young intern. It is an ongoing journey of discovery, prosthetic leg now has a device that one that De Roy succinctly summarises assists in keeping the patient safer and more functional every step of the way. in one word.

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When prosthetic devices are able to prevent stumbles and falls, you know we are on the right track to provide a life without limitations.” The past two decades have also seen Össur grow markedly as a company, expanding from a tightknit team of 300 to more than 3,500 dedicated people around the world today. Crucially, however, despite this tenfold increase in headcount, the determination to impart the organisation’s mantra of life without limitations remains the same. “We were a small group of people determined to make a difference to people’s lives, and that feeling I first had is still with me,” De Roy adds.

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Indeed, Össur has remained laudably agile during this growth phase, evidenced by its continuing track record of delivering unique products to the market.

The EVP has oversight of operations across five countries, the major research hub being in Iceland where the majority of prosthetics work is carried out. Upper and part of lower extremity Knowledge is power prosthetics are respectively studied in Central to this standout track record bases in Scotland and Germany, while is an unwavering commitment to Össur’s facility in France deals with soft research and development. goods like bracing and supports, along Around five percent of company with compression therapy products. revenue is reinvested into R&D activity, The firm also has R&D presence in a high figure and something which De California, where bracing and postRoy believes helps set Össur apart in operative solutions form the primary the industry. focus of activities. “Our history is based on innovation,” he says. “We talk about trade up in technology and a trade up in functionality, and when we stop innovating, we stop improving the outcomes for people who need our The term next generation solutions. This could be anybody from not only applies to product professional athletes to the elderly who development at Össur, but treasure the confidence that comes also its team of research from being able to trust their mobility.” engineers.

THE NEXT GENERATION

De Roy explains: “Recruiting the requisite talent is obviously something we have placed a lot of emphasis on. When I first started back in 2001, we had 15-16 people, and with the exception of one or two they are all still here. “The majority of people have been around a very long time, so when new people start, they have a tremendous pool of knowledge to learn from. “We focus on developing the next generation engineer. We want to give young and creative people the opportunity to understand what we do and see how they can help us develop the next potentially lifechanging set of products.”

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This work results in a pipeline of products that continually raise the bar of orthopaedics, De Roy emphasising the health economic benefit to be reaped from committing to quality and evidence-based product development. “For healthcare providers it pays to invest in superior prosthetic products for patients,” he adds. “It can prevent reinjuries and all of the related costs involved. “We have come a long way, but there is more to be done, especially when it comes to elderly patients, and with the right technology we can ensure fewer people suffer from falls and other mobility issues.”

Power and control

One such solution, a programme which has been prominent for the last 15 years, comes in the field of power prosthetics.

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The i-Limb® Quantum: The first multiarticulating prosthesis that can be controlled with simple gestures

“POWER KNEE™ was the first motorised prosthetic that allowed us to lift the patient out of the chair,” De Roy recalls. “It is robotic and effectively walks for the user, reducing the risk of falls and stumbles and taking the energy out of walking, providing unrivalled levels of security versus a passive prosthetic leg. “In this case we are not only talking about replacing the joint mobility, but also the muscles around this joint that have been lost through an amputation.” Össur is developing the third generation of this product family, an evolution which will open power prosthetics up to a much wider group of users thanks to its superior attributes – cutting-edge technology at a more affordable price, including longer battery life and reduced noise and weight. “The other element we are looking at is the control mechanisms for these products,” adds De Roy. “There is a lot going on around the intelligence provided by microprocessors and sensors – currently they operate in sync with the patient but also think independently. “One of the directions we’re looking at is giving that control back to the patient to make the product as intuitive as possible, giving the intentional control back to the user.” De Roy cites an example involving bionic hands, where the company is looking at how it can send signals directly from the muscle rather than the surface of the skin. “With this, the user no longer has to go through complicated sequences of actions to move their prosthetic,” he continues. “Instead, we want them to move and think in the way they used to before they lost their hand. Our aim is for people to be able to perform tasks like picking up a set of keys, grabbing a cup or opening a door with one intuitive motion.” Össur is currently testing on four

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Össur Formfit® Pro Knee OA is a dynamic, lightweight, and compressive knee sleeve for people in an early stage of knee osteoarthritis (OA)

patients – two with bionic hands and two with lower extremity prosthetics. A key priority for De Roy is to gain permission from the USA’s Food and Drug Administration to increase its testing base and collect more data, a process which he accepts may take several years to come to fruition.

Life without limitations

Looking even further into the future, De Roy hints at the potential of mindor intent-controlled products to make an impact in the market, taking the definition of smart prosthetics to an entirely new level. However, he is much more grounded when describing Össur’s immediate plans going into the rest of 2019 and 2020. “Our basic priority actually involves ensuring the company is

ready to deal with new regulations at a European level,” he explains. “These are coming into play in May 2020 and we will comply to make sure we are making the safest and most reliable products.” From here the picture will expand into the wider mission, underpinned by the strapline life without limitations. “We have some amazing products in the pipeline – products which we believe will change lives,” De Roy continues. “This has to be for all potential users, especially those who are less able to move independently and need us the most. “Around 50 percent of amputees above the knee are not getting a prosthesis. The older these people get the less chance they have of being able to walk, and we are seeing disparity in these numbers as we move from one country to another. There are thus massive opportunities to give more people the chance to use prosthetics.”

Making such products more intuitive and available to a wider audience will be critical if Össur is to grasp the opportunity ahead of it, and De Roy, buoyant about the 18 years of discovery he has enjoyed to date, is stoutly optimistic. He concludes: “Össur has a pipeline which fills me with confidence that we’re going to succeed. We speak through our products – the solutions are there, and we need to generate as much awareness as we can in order to give people a chance to improve their lives.”

Össur Head Office Tel: + 354 515 1300 mottaka@ossur.com www.ossur.com

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Össur Head Office Grjótháls 1-5 110 Reykjavík Iceland Tel: +354 515 1300 mottaka@ossur.com www.ossur.com