Wednesday November 20, 2019 at 10:23am
"We developed one of our first prototypes entirely in SOLIDWORKS using our Entrepreneur Licence. Traditional prostheses are uncomfortable; they don’t do very much, and are unbelievably expensive. So we've designed a new type of prosthetic arm."
- Nathan Macabuag, Co-founder of Mitt Wearables, orthotic and prosthetics services.
For the last 3 years, Mitt Wearables have worked alongside people with limb differences to create the world's first medically approved and truly affordable prosthetic designed by their users. Their mission is to make prosthetics accessible to every single person in the world who wants one, at a price people can actually afford.
Mitt’s prosthetic arm is lightweight and breathable like clothing, and has a range of easily interchangeable tools designed specifically for the activities people love.
“I witnessed the broken process of prosthetics design and purchasing with my own eyes after my sister’s amputation. No one should have to go through the difficulties that she did. We want to fix that system – and make her something she is proud to wear every day”, says Co-founder, Ben Lakey.
"At Mitt we think it’s really simple; we start with the user, and work backwards to the technology. It seems obvious but it ended up leading us down a very different path to what we saw going on in the industry, and towards a design that is incredibly user focussed”, continues Co-founder, Nathan Macabuag.
"There still remains, in 2019, a need for comfortable, easy-to-fit, user-friendly prosthetic limbs that can be made at an affordable price. We want to connect people to the world by giving them the power over their limbs”, he concludes.
A formidable example of someone making the most out of life with their Mitt is that of Alex Lewis from Hampshire. Alex had a serious reaction to a Strep A infection in 2013 and was left fighting for his life, eventually having his four limbs amputated. Alex is one of the first in the UK to own a Mitt and, having found a new sense of adventure, he has recently climbed one of Africa’s tallest mountains. “People assume that the solution needed is a prosthetic that is an exact replica of the hand that has been lost. But that’s not the case. I don’t want fingers and a thumb; I just want something functional that can help me grip and pick things up. Basically, something that will allow me to do the simple tasks I struggle with and which are difficult or impossible with my original prosthetic. That’s what people are crying out for and what Mitt delivers”, says Alex.
Already familiar with SOLIDWORKS from their university courses, Ben and Nathan signed up to our Entrepreneur Program, where they had free access to the full product portfolio. Nathan comments, “When you leave university, you lose access to SOLIDWORKS, which is tough because you don’t want to move to another software platform. But if you’re eligible to the Entrepreneur Program and are doing something in hardware that is cool and innovative they set you up with access to the high-end features, literally everything you can imagine. All this for free, for a year, and with all the support from the team at Solid Solutions.”
Watch Mitt Wearables’ testimonial on our YouTube Channel.
To find out more about Mitt, please visit: https://www.wearmitt.com/
If you know a start-up company, tell them about our Entrepreneur Program https://www.solidsolutions.ie/startups