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UNYQ and Minneapolis VA Health Care System to collaborate on 3D-printed prosthetics development

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SAN FRANCISCO & MINNEAPOLIS (PRWEB)

UNYQ is a leader in the field of 3D-printed personalized prosthetic wears and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as represented by Minneapolis VA Health Care System (HCS), have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) for 3D-printed prosthetics. The objective of the collaboration is to introduce personalized products addressing specific needs of persons with amputations within the Veterans community taking advantage of exponential technology like 3D-printing, generative design and app development. The Minneapolis VA research group participating in the CRADA previously invented the background technology which was licensed to UNYQ by the VA Technology Transfer Program (TTP) in Washington, DC.

The prosthetic innovation team at the Minneapolis VA HCS has been engaged in research and development of 3D-printed prosthetics addressing specific needs of US Veterans with amputations, products that are now close to market ready. Last year the VA TTP initiated a search for a commercial partner to finalize the go to market strategy for this new innovation and bring to market, a process that led to the license agreement and CRADA.

UNYQ has been marketing and selling 3D-printed prosthetics they call UNYQ wears for the last 6 years that have been successfully used to create and design prosthetic wears worn by thousands. UNYQ has created a new innovative approach to capture user design preferences and biometrics using a simple iPhone App, a process that involves generative design, 3D-printing and post-processing. UNYQ Wears are shipped within 2 to 3 weeks to close to 1000 partner clinics in 30 different countries.

The aim of the VA / UNYQ partnership is to collaborate in the short term on launching products as early as this year and continue to develop concepts together for the future using 3D-printing and other exponential technologies.

“3D-printing and personalization can solve needs unaddressed so far for the Veterans with amputations. During the last years our team has been exploring and investing in the development of prototypes and advanced concepts. We are very excited to be partnering up with UNYQ to make this work finally available to clinics and end users, including Veterans,” said Dr. Andrew Hansen, Director of the Minneapolis Adaptive Design & Engineering (MADE) Program at the Minneapolis VA HCS.

“The collaboration with the development team at VA is very important to move the field forward and embrace the new technology, a concept that can unlock new potentials not just for the Veterans community but for the whole amputee community,” said Eythor Bender CEO and Co-Founder of UNYQ.

ABOUT UNYQ

UNYQ is a designer of prescription prosthetic and orthotic wears. UNYQ uses digitization and 3D printing to enable mass customization and personalized design. UNYQ was founded in San Francisco and Seville Spain with over 700 UNYQ Clinics in over 30 countries across the world. To learn more about UNYQ, its UNYQ Hub Network and complete product lines, visit http://www.unyq.com

ABOUT THE MADE PROGRAM

The Minneapolis Adaptive Design & Engineering (MADE) Program’s mission is to develop and disseminate adaptive technologies and interventions to help Veterans with physical disabilities maximize their function and participation in meaningful activities throughout their lifespan. The MADE Program was founded in 2010 at the Minneapolis VA HCS in Minnesota.

For more information please contact:

Eythor Bender, CEO and Co-Founder UNYQ

eythor@unyq.com

Brad Doboszenski

Public Affairs, Minneapolis VA Health Care System

651-467-3012, brad.doboszenski@va.gov

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