Porto Start-up creates 3D model to fit prosthesis

It uses only textiles made in Portugal and enables the creation, in just 90 seconds, of a 3D model of the implantation of prosthetics. The socket with incorporated sensors, called INSIGHT, developed by Adapttech with the help of CITEVE, was one of the winners at the iTechStyle Awards and promises to change the way that leg prosthesis are designed.

Founded by two former students of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Mario Saenz Espinoza and Frederico Carpinteiro, Adapttech saw the process to which prosthetic patients were submitted and noticed plenty of room for improvement. The problem arises from the method, based on trial and error, which many times requires several sessions, measurements and revaluations before reaching the perfect match for the prosthesis and the patient’s body. In the meantime, the patient is walking uncomfortably and, sometimes, with limited ability.

This start-up’s goal is to condense it all down to a single session. For that, they have created a technological package, composed of a wearable sensorised socket, a scanner and an app. In just 90 seconds, the scanner reads the prosthetic socket’s inner surface and creates a 3D model of it. The INSIGHT app then pinpoints exactly where the problematic points are over the model, allowing the technician to take the appropriated corrections to provide a faster and better adaptation of the socket. At the end of the first sessions, the prosthesis is correctly fitted and adapted to the patient’s needs.

Adapttech has developed the INSIGHT Wearable system, with the help of CITEVE, guaranteeing that it only uses textiles made in Portugal. “The fabric coating is vital to make the system more comfortable and aesthetically appealing. We wanted to avoid that look of medical instrumental”, confides Diogo Lopes, designer of the company.

“It’s very simple and helps us achieve a greater comfort and more quality of life”, declares Marta Ferreira, one of the pioneers of the product.

For now, despite the general interest, the project is still pending certification. “Certifying medical equipment is a painstaking process which always leads to a few changes”, explains Diogo Lopes. Nevertheless, INSIGHT is expected to be commercialised before the end of this year, or beginning of the next.