Kate
My company is ExpHand. We make three prosthetic products that can grow with someone’s body. Using 3D printers, we can manufacture on the go, on demand. Anywhere in the world, so long as you’ve got a plug socket.
I got involved with the Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park in my last year at uni. Then I moved straight from graduating into the space there. Having the space available has been vital to the company getting off the ground.
We’re currently doing a trial in Kenya and we’re going to be officially launching the final product this summer. We want to change the landscape for prosthetics so that they are both affordable and adjustable.
It’s taken four years to get to where we are now; getting the hardware to where it needs to be, testing it, making sure it all works. But getting to the point we are now is exciting. Short term turnover will depend on the markets we can get into, how quickly as well. The UK will ultimately be a minor market for us, but it will initially be key. The much larger markets for us are places like Kenya, Tanzania.
The impact that the right prosthesis can have on a young life can be immense - both from a practical standpoint and an emotional one. To have available a product that can adapt to a young person’s growing body, forgoing the need to constantly be having to both change prosthetics as well as never having them fit entirely properly, will change thousands of people’s lives for the better.
Our prosthetics can be made in lots of fun colour combinations, so they become an extension of your child's personality, not simply just a medical device. Most prosthetics on the market today are expensive, but we have a way of making them less pricey. The secret is additive manufacturing, so we can provide the customer with something high-quality that is also affordable.