A significant evolution in upper limb prosthetics has been made through Heriot-Watt University’s inaugural DeepTech LaunchPad programme in Scotland.

During the six-month accelerator programme, David Yeudall, founder of prosthetics company Infinity DPM, worked on developing multiple upper limb prosthetics with the use of softer, warmer materials, resulting in more humanistic prosthetics compared to traditional rigid designs.

Hosted at Heriot-Watts’ National Robotarium facility in Edinburgh, Yeudall worked on creating prosthetics that not only restore functionality but also feel more natural and comfortable for daily use.

Reflecting on Infinity DPM’s experience throughout the accelerator, Yeudall told Medical Device Network: “We're a small company, and the engineering support was the initial benefit to us.

“We were allocated two engineers from the National Robotarium, and they initially critiqued what we already had, which was very valuable.

“The National Robotarium also has a rapid prototyping facility, which helped us to speed up our development process.”

The overall aim of the Heriot-Watt pilot accelerator programme, which was joined by six startups in total, was to support entrepreneurs working in robotics, AI, and advanced engineering to commercialise their ideas with tailored business services and the provision of facilities and equipment such as 3D printers available within Heriot-Watt and the National Robotarium. The programme concluded earlier this month.

Heriot-Watt University's DeepTech Launchpad programme leader Jamie Allan commented: “David's progress exemplifies what we aimed to achieve with this programme, which marks an incredibly exciting step in strengthening Scotland's innovation ecosystem.

“By providing deep tech entrepreneurs with the resources and connections they need, we're helping to bring transformative technologies to market faster.”

According to GlobalData, the global orthopaedic devices market, of which prosthetics are a part, was worth around $52.4bn in 2023 and is projected to reach a valuation of around $70.4bn by 2033. In addition, GlobalData forecasts that the 3D printing in medical devices market will grow from just over $2bn in sales in 2022 to $4bn in 2026 at a CAGR of 21%.

There are currently 95 orthopaedic prosthetics devices in active stages of development, as per GlobalData’s Medical Device Pipeline database.