BIONICLI - Patient Specific Prosthetic Hand

Globally, there are around 1.5 million reported upper limb amputees.

Based on the priority of problems reported by trans-radial amputation patients we have come up with 5 major problems, we are trying to solve: 

• Available prosthetic hands introduce body fatigue and aren't comfortable wearing considering the poor fit and design of the prosthetic socket.

• Available sockets bring sweat and are heavy.

• High-end versions of the hand available/imported to India aren't affordable by more than 47% of the reported trans-radial amputees. 

• The hand lacks enough strength to hold objects and requires frequent charging.

• Frequent visits are required to the hospital/clinics and errors in measuring the size of the residual stump.

Life and Limb (P) Ltd. aims to provide a cost-effective and high-quality prosthesis solution for patient-specific fitment, with a dedicated team of professionals, and appreciated by its users.

BIONICLI is a functional upper limb prosthetic hand with fourteen grip patterns. In the proposed product, we are using myo-sensors which are non-invasive. The arm and design of the fingers are such that allow water resistance and thus enhance the lifecycle of the prosthesis. It weighs less than 450 grams with the battery pack. It has an adaptive grasp mechanism that is compliant, compared to using pulleys and belts. The design advantages include - the battery is housed inside the palm with minimal electronics, no electronics are placed inside the arm, thus different stump sizes can be accommodated - making the arm functional. The socket is digitally fabricated using 3D scanning thus taking more accurate stump measurements. Furthermore, the smart use of a control system using a microcontroller allows current thresholding, eliminating the use of additional sensors on the fingers to limit the finger movement while grasping soft and hard objects. The hand allows thumb and wrist movements and mimics the anatomical features of the human hand.

In our market analysis of the Indian population, we found out that out of 23,500 annual upper-limb amputees, around 15000 people reach out to Prosthetists and Orthotists to enquire about a prosthetic hand but only 4,500 end up getting one. Thus, showing us an unmet need of around 10,500 amputees. We are trying to fill this gap and cater to such 10.5K upper limb amputees annually.

Life and Limb's founders and core team members are active alumni of IIT Kanpur. Nishant Agarwal [Founder & CEO] completed his MS [by Research] from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Kanpur in 2018. Madhav Londhe [Technical Lead] is pursuing his Ph.D. from the same department. Mayank Verma [Research Analyst] and Sachin Chauhan [Finance Lead] completed their M.tech in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Prachi Kharb [Co-Founder & COO] and Shivi Agarwal [Business Head] are experienced professionals and supporting us to strategize on the business side.We are highly trained in the domain of computational mechanics and manufacturing sciences with a wonderful set of mentors and advisors from a medical and clinical background. Further, our expertise in product development would further project us at the forefront of the domain of assistive technology.

We are currently at validation stage where we are testing our product on pilot patients. With MIT solve, we will be able to scale our idea and advance in market. 

All the electronics in our hand are present inside the palm thus keeping the stump lightweight and freedom to keep the size of the hand customized to each individual. Also, since we are using a single actuator, the battery life is prolonged. Since the stump is 3D printed and hollow, it leads to a lighter hand and is easier to carry. The hand is water-proof and the compliant mechanism enables the finger strength to be more when compared with competitors. Our hand requires less number of visits to the doctor when compared to our competitors since it is customised. Also, the BOM of our product is very less when compared to the competitors.

We are on the way to complete the product validation by Q2-2022. We are targeting to get pre-clinical approval for pilot with 5 units. We are also setting up a proper workflow of the process, are in talks with different manufacturers for mass production, leading to scale up by the end of Q3-2022. For Q1-2023, we are planning to enter other markets as well. 

In 5 years, We see L&L as the top seller for prosthetic hands in India and entering few other countries.

Currently, we are measuring our progress based on how many P&Os are interested to hear our product and ready to sell. We already have connected with 20 P&Os in India which cater to around 250 patients yearly. For our product, based on the number of grip patterns it can perform and it’s performance. Apart from it, the funding agencies and the globally renowned channels that are happy to facilitate our startup are other key parameters that are helping us measure our success.

We are targeting the people with upper limb amputation who want a prosthetic hand and are not getting one due to poor design options. Based on the reasons cited by such users, we have identified the problem statement and our solution aligns with it. 

We also believe that like people wearing spectacles are not treated differently, similarly people wearing prosthetic hands should also be not treated in any different way. 

Our product is a  multi-fingered prosthetic hand consisting of a smart, single actuator, and water-resistant electronic interface with myo-control, reducing the hardware complexity and the cost. Furthermore, the hand will be highly functional when performing day-to-day activities involving adaptive grasp and pinch using current thresholding, eliminating the use of force sensors on the fingers. The key defining factor of the innovation is the use of additive manufacturing technology to come up with snap joints or compliant joints to reduce the number of child parts, ease out the assembly, and thus cost-effectiveness to achieve greater affordability. The socket is digitally fabricated using 3D scanning and requires minimal user engagement.

We have already applied for 3 patents and developed a prototype. We are also testing it on patients and are done with our first pilot in March 2022. Our second pilot will be completed by April 2022, post which we can get the regulatory certificates.

We Regularly engage in open, honest, and multidirectional dialogue at different levels, and work on developing a shared understanding that achieving diversity takes commitment and hard work from every member of the team. Our team contains people from the age group 25-60. Apart from it, we have founders from 2 genders. In our first pilot phase testing also, we have selected a diverse group of patients to understand their requirements properly. One of the key criteria of selection of team members was presence of compassion and empathy; for everybody to love the problem that we are solving.

Our Business Model is B2B. We will have 2 revenue models:

• Direct Sales Model - This is our customer acquisition channel. We will be directly reaching out for sales to the following Businesses:

  • P&O Clinics/ Hospitals

  • Rehabilitation Centres

  • NGOs

  • Government Agencies

• Subscription Model - This is our customer retention channel. We have the following two subscription plans for the patients:

  • Warranty Services - Our prosthetic hand has a warranty of 2 years.

  • Socket update - We provide a socket update facility on demand. It is useful in scenarios like:

    • Growing children where the size of the arm changes very fast.

    • User Customization. If people want to go ahead with a new color/ print.

Currently, we require around USD 600K in total to fund our project out of which USD 400K will be seed money raised against equity and USD 200K will be raised through grants.

We are connecting to many such channels for grants and VC networks.

The following fundings we have raised so far:

1. USD 15,000 [INR 11,00,000]; August 2020; NIDHI-PRAYAS Prototype Grant from Department of Science and Technology [DST], Government of India 

[Funding Date: 15/08/2020]

2.USD 10,000 [INR 7,00,000]; March 2021; TIDE 2.0 MVP Grant from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology [MEITY], Government of India 

[Funding Date: 01/04/2021]

3. USD 70,000 [INR 50,00,000]; March 2021; CSR funds from Portescap India 

[Funding Date: 01/04/2021]

4.USD 10,000 [INR 7,50,000]; American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 

[Funding Date: 05/05/2021]