Denver-based ADA Technologies’ PhysioNetics division has been awarded an $815,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The Phase II round of funding will enable PhysioNetics to complete design refinements and bring to market its low-cost upper-limb prosthetic interface.
Dubbed the Johnson Veatch Interface (JVI), the patent-pending socket is significantly less expensive than other available prosthetic sockets, according to a PhysioNetics/ADA Technologies press release, making it a more affordable option for the several hundred thousand economically disadvantaged individuals who could benefit from the interface in the United States and the developing world. The interface can be adjusted to accommodate residual limbs that vary in shape and volume.
“The cost of purchasing, repairing and maintaining prostheses, combined with a lack of clinical infrastructure in some countries precludes a large percentage of the world’s amputee population from accessing modern prosthetic technologies,” said PhysioNetics Principal Investigator and Chief Technology Officer Alwyn P. Johnson. “Recent crises around the world continue to highlight the need for prosthetic devices that are affordable and field-deployable. By collaborating with funding agencies and humanitarian groups, we will provide disadvantaged amputees new prosthetic options that enable them to live more independently while improving their quality of life.”
The JVI is a core component of PhysioNetics International Transradial Adjustable Limb (ITAL), an affordable body-powered upper-extremity prosthesis currently marketed worldwide.
