A novel, modular, smart and patient-centred Ankle-Foot-Orthosis design and production process

Project Information

MOWA

Grant agreement ID: 867971

DOI

10.3030/867971

Project closed

EC signature date 11 May 2019

Start date 1 May 2019

End date 31 August 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

MOWA HEALTHCARE AG
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MOWA (A novel, modular, smart and patient-centred Ankle-Foot-Orthosis design and production process)

Reporting period: 2019-05-01 to 2019-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Gait (or walking) disorders can occur because of disease, accident, or sport injuries, but they are mostly associated to neuromuscular disorders. By 2020, 24 million EU citizens will suffer from a disorder affecting the nervous system of their leg. 25% of these citizens,6 million Europeans, will be affected by foot drop, which causes an abnormal gait which frequently leads to falls. These falls strongly influence the quality of life of all the affected and lead to depression and anxiety disorders.
The goal of an ankle foot orthosis’ (AFO) is to fully support or even restore a person's mobility. Within, AFOs, adapted orthoses imply long and arduous measuring, design and manufacturing processes, and their quality is highly dependent on the orthopaedist’s expertise and the available information about the gait evolution (seldom recovered with enough quality). This process is cumbersome, lengthy and expensive, often traumatic for patients, especially children, whose fast growth forces a frequent renewal of their orthosis.
MOWA Smart is the first customised AFO especially created to help people with gait disabilities associated to neuromuscular diseases. MOWA Smart’s uniqueness relies on the ground-breaking exploitation of Big Data and Machine Learning to assist orthopaedists in the design, digitalisation and manufacturing steps to produce individualised lower-limb orthoses in a totally adapted but fast and cost-efficient manner. Our proprietary sensor will allow remote monitoring and will register the movement (gait pattern) providing high-quality information about its evolution.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the Feasibility Study we have developed (1) an analysis of the technical activities for the sensor and the MOWA Matrix for data acquirement and the clinical study, (2) the market study and commercialisation strategy, (3) an in-depth analysis of European providers outside DACH region, (4) an FTO analysis and (5) an assessment about the financial feasibility of the project.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

By the end of the project we will be ready to tackle the European market, starting with our home region DACH. Five years after commercialisation (2026) we anticipate €40 million in accumulated revenue, and €22 million in net profit. Our ROI will be 1.4%. We will create 15 European jobs.
The total estimated budget needed for the development of the project is €2 million, of which a 70% would be the grant requested to the EC (€1.4 million).

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