Pilot Case Studies for 'SCALED' wrist guards

SCALED(tm) is a London based, material technology company developing the next generation of flexible and protective body protection. At SCALED, we automize the design of personalised wearables to address the challenge of enabling long, healthy lives posed by our diverse and active societies.

Current state-of-the-art protective wearables are standard-sized and modelled on the average European male. For most people, existing body protectors are rigid, bulky and uncomfortable. Mobility is restricted to a larger extent than needed and extensive use leads to a decrease of muscle mass. Discomfort and unnecessary restriction of movement encourages patients to remove the wearable earlier than advised, risking further injury or prolonged recovery time. Additionally, existing wearables lack any customization. Users suffering from a chronic disease such as Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) are using the same orthotics as the professional athlete who seeks to prevent joint abrasion.

SCALED is the world's first protective and flexible material innovation that offers a targeted degree of protection while allowing maximum mobility. SCALED's nature-inspired patented technology is an exoskeleton material formed into interlocking scales. Our algorithm uses customer data which, with the help of computational design and 3D printing, creates the unique SCALED material. The resulting 'scale-like' structure offers protection exactly at the degree and to the extent that the user group requires, whilst offering maximum mobility in all other directions, thus solving the problem of ill-fitting, rigid wearables.

The SCALED material is innovative in three regards:

1. Firstly, SCALED wearables offer targeted support while allowing maximum mobility and flexibility.
2. Secondly, SCALED is mass-customizable to meet each user groups' individual needs.
3. Thirdly, SCALED is an add-on material, used to improve existing protective wearables in the sports, medical orthotics and work-safety industry.

The Innovate UK 'Fast Start: Innovation' grant is used to successfully deliver 5 pilot studies with user groups in the sports and medical sector. Our focus for this project is to improve life quality, self-management and independent living for patients suffering from chronic wrist conditions due to lifestyle diseases such as RSI.