Development of an immediate, post-surgery, upper-limb prosthesis: Wound soft, self-fittable and enabling critical rehabilitation and physiotherapy to start earlier for better healthcare outcomes.

COVID-19 has further compounded the challenges faced by the NHS prosthetic service. At a time of movement restrictions and social distancing, traditional prosthesis is often unavailable or at best limited, reliant on a dedicated in-hospital appointment, Clinician and bespoke fitting appointment. This means amputees are missing out on critical early access to prosthesis, already having to wait over 6 months for first access - with COVID likely to increase this even further.

Koalaa aim to address these challenges with the development of the world's first post-surgery prosthesis - a soft, flexible device that can be fitted at home or via telemedicine within 24 hours of an operation.

Based upon our patented 'soft-socket' design, range of interchangeable tools and working with key NHS, patient and rehabilitation stakeholders, the revolutionary device will enable prosthesis use and rehabilitation to begin 6 months earlier than currently possible.

Furthermore, the flexible, standard design means it can be easily fitted to a wide range of residual limbs in a similar way to a sock - provided in discrete sizes and flexibly fit to the user's limb without intervention. This approach completely removes the intensive, expensive hands-on nature of the prosthesis fitting service currently that results in amputees put at considerable COVID risk attending appointment.

The proposed technology and design forms part of our portfolio of products aimed at addressing the high cost, high abandonment rate and poor comfort of current prosthesis, whilst helping address a key COVID-related challenge. The benefits of the technology are considerable and immediate.