Lima, Peru — Serving to people with disabilities obtain their goals, work independently, and create extra alternatives for them had been the motivations behind Peruvian engineer Ricardo Rodríguez founding Pixed Corp, a startup that has gained worldwide recognition for creating the world’s first bionic prosthesis with elbow articulation.
“The problem of incapacity has all the time been near me and my household as a result of I had an uncle who was disabled. Throughout that point, assistive applied sciences weren’t very accessible; he wanted a wheelchair, and the federal government offered him with a plastic chair with bicycle wheels. Seeing that left an enduring influence on me,” Rodríguez informed Peru Reviews.
As he started his skilled profession, Rodríguez determined to channel his efforts into the event of assistive know-how. “My uncle handed away earlier than I may full my schooling, and I couldn’t assist him. However I spotted that the statistics for manufacturing and delivering high-quality prostheses in Peru had been dismal, so I made a decision to do one thing about it,” he stated.
In Peru, 5.2% of the inhabitants has some type of incapacity, with over 210,000 people dealing with mobility limitations or challenges with their legs and arms.
Based on December 15, 2015, Pixed is a analysis and know-how growth firm that gives mechanical and psychological assist to its customers, making certain a seamless adaptation to their gadgets.
Pixed’s engineers collaborate carefully with the Peruvian Affiliation of Hand and Microsurgery, which has 47 specialised hand and microsurgery medical doctors who supply medical insights for prosthetic enhancements.
“We focus on offering full or partial higher arm prostheses. We create finger prostheses, hand prostheses, transradial prostheses (forearm amputation), prostheses with elbow articulation, and, lastly, shoulder prostheses,” Rodríguez defined.
To attain this feat, Rodríguez stated they use two kinds of know-how: 3D design and printing and the creation of sensors for bionic prostheses that execute pre-recorded instructions. These prostheses additionally characteristic predictive studying processing based mostly on the person’s every day actions.
“Our differentiating issue is our user-centric design methodology. We’re all the time attentive to what customers are searching for, what extra capabilities they’d like with their prostheses, and we regularly improve and improve new variations,” he added.
One other distinctive characteristic is their affordability. Pixed’s prostheses have detachable components and may evolve over time, eliminating the necessity for a whole alternative.
“We’ve designed it in order that if the person loses or beneficial properties weight, we will take away the bionic know-how and adapt it to a brand new dimension. This implies changing solely the part fairly than all of the initially acquired know-how,” he defined.
Rodríguez additionally emphasised that Pixed provides customization for every of their prostheses.
Pixed and its international recognition
In 2020, Pixed Corp launched the primary bionic prosthesis for forearm amputations. Nevertheless, customers started requesting shoulder bionic prostheses (full arm). “We started working on it, and in 2021, we launched the primary prosthesis of this type,” Rodríguez recounted.
E-Nable, a worldwide, open-source group devoted to 3D printing higher limb assistive gadgets, acknowledged this know-how because the world’s first shoulder disarticulation prosthesis with mechanical elbow articulation. Moreover, the venture obtained backing from the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.
“Considered one of our first customers of this prosthesis was a 21-year-old from Arequipa. He quickly informed me that the very first thing he was in a position to do was brush his enamel, however six months later, he stated he began working in a carpentry workshop with the prosthesis. That’s precisely what motivates us to maintain transferring ahead,” Rodríguez stated.
In line with the founder, Pixed all the time seeks steady innovation and values person suggestions. At the moment, the corporate has 5 upgrades able to be launched for its bionic gadgets in 2024.
“We additionally goal to broaden to different international locations in Latin America,” he stated.
At the moment, Pixed has gained vital traction within the Chilean market. International locations like Mexico, Brazil, and Bolivia have additionally expressed curiosity within the Peruvian startup, which has delivered over 130 prostheses to youngsters and adults so far.
“Our concept is to cut back the manufacturing time to 2 weeks so that individuals from different international locations can come and go away with their prostheses. The objective is that in their go to to Peru, additionally they expertise our nationwide tradition and take away a brand new treasure: a modern medical know-how gadget,” Rodríguez concluded.
