nia-technologies

Healing the wounds and trauma of the war in Ukraine

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:23:03 GMT

In Lviv, the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Center has already treated more than 16,000 wounded civilians and soldiers, including 2,000 children. More than 100,000 surgeries have been done.

"Everyone is on adrenaline. Everyone is motivated. We are in survival mode. We do it because our friends, our parents, our husbands are on the battlefield", says M aryana Svirchuk from Unbroken .

It is estimated that more than 10,000 Ukrainian civilians and 70,000 soldiers have been killed since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. Nearly 19,000 civilians and 100,000 soldiers were reportedly injured.

When the war began, the regional civilian hospital had to quickly change course to meet demand, but the staff had little experience in treating war wounds.

In addition, the city's hospital has had to adapt to a very large volume of new patients – thousands of Ukrainians who have fled the fighting in the west to settle in Lviv.

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A Canadian-donated 3D printer is making artificial limbs for Ukrainian soldiers so they can walk, run – and fight again

Sun, 29 Oct 2023 17:31:13 GMT

Amid the tragedies of the war in Ukraine , t here are small victories, small incidents of hope that inspire and rally the defenders. One of those moments came on Sunday in Kyiv, when war amputees fitted with prosthetic legs took part in a charity race that made crowds cheer with pride.

The race, organized by the Nova Post express delivery company and billed as the “World’s Longest Marathon” – a reference to the 3,359 days that have passed since the war started with Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 – included 15 amputees who were given new limbs in the Unbroken National Rehabilitation Center at St. Panteleimon hospital in Lviv.

One of them, Serhii Yevtushenko, walked and ran his one-kilometre event with a prosthesis made from a Canadian-donated 3D printer that was recently installed at Unbroken. “I had no problem with my new Canadian leg,” he told The Globe and Mail after the race. “Morally, this event felt good and I would like to thank Canada.”

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How 3D printing has sped up prosthetic development for people around the world

Thu, 28 Mar 2019 17:07:25 GMT

For alumnus Jerry Evans , every job is a custom job.

“The shape of a person’s limb is as unique as their signature,” he says. “You can’t meet this need with mass production.”

After graduating from the University of Toronto with a master's degree in civil engineering, Evans pursued an MBA and had a successful 20-year career in the financial sector. Today, he is the CEO of Nia Technologies Inc., a not-for-profit social enterprise that uses computer-aided design (CAD) software and 3D printers to enhance the fabrication of prosthetic devices around the world.

The company collaborates with clinics and hospitals worldwide, including in Canada, Uganda, Tanzania and Cambodia.

For full story, please follow link here .

Attendees Get To Interact With Nia’s Technology at Discovery 2018

Wed, 02 May 2018 20:08:03 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Nia Technologies was proud to participate as an exhibitor in the Accessibility Innovation Showcase at Discovery 2018.

This year, Discovery was held on April 30 and May 1, 2018 in Toronto, Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The conference is hosted by Ontario Centres of Excellence and is Canada’s leading innovation-to-commercialization conference. In 2017, Discovery brought together 3,600 attendees and more than 540 exhibitors across industry, academia, government, and the investment community.

Nia Technologies participated in the Accessibility Innovation Showcase alongside more than thirty other Ontario-based companies selected to exhibit their innovative assistive devices and technologies. According to the organizers, the purpose of the showcase is to “build broader awareness of the companies that exist in this niche market, provide exposure to potential private investors, and engage the entire innovation ecosystem.”

At Nia’s booth, attendees saw several 3D printers at work, fabricating lower limb prosthetic sockets. They were also able to experience NiaFit in virtual reality and learn about Nia’s work to bring 3D printed prosthetics and orthotics to children in resource poor countries.

Nia’s CEO Interviewed For 3DHEALS 2018 Conference

jevans@niatech.org (Jerry Evans) — Sun, 04 Mar 2018 20:08:03 GMT

In advance of the 2018 3DHEALS Conference, taking place in San Francisco on April 20-21, 2018, Dr. Jenny Chen interviewed Nia’s CEO, Jerry Evans, about his thoughts on 3D printing.

Mr. Evans will be attending the conference on behalf of Nia Technologies.

The following is an excerpt of the interview. You can read the full interview here.

Jenny: When was the first encounter you had with 3D printing? What was that experience like? What were you thinking at that moment?

Jerry: I had read about 3D printers and first saw one in action at a consumer electronics show. My initial thought was, ‘hmmm, a molecular assembler’; and quickly came to realize this is just the beginning for 3D printing. As this technology matures, I believe it will revolutionize our ability to produce anything our imaginations can conjure up.

Jenny: What inspired you to start your journey/company/career/research in 3D printing (bio-fabrication/bio-printing)?

Jerry: As an investment banker, I became disenchanted with the pursuit of alpha (return margin). When I was presented with the opportunity to head up Nia Technologies Inc. and to develop new digital technologies that would help children in resource-poor countries walk, play and attend school, I knew I had found my calling.

Jenny: Who inspired you the most along this journey in 3D printing? This can be a mentor, a patient, a celebrity, anyone basically. You can name more than one as well.

Jerry: When we first started exploring the idea of using 3D printers to produce prosthetics and orthotics, we came across a 4-year-old (congenital amputee) girl in Uganda, named Roseline. She and her 12-year-old brother traveled an epic 35 hours to see us at CoRSU hospital where we were conducting our first clinical trials of 3D PrintAbility (our prosthetics and orthotics 3D printing toolchain). Roseline was the first patient to receive one of our 3D printed transtibial devices. This was also the first time that Roseline would walk on her own two feet. Witnessing Roseline take her first steps ever was an overwhelming experience, bringing tears to everyone’s eyes who had seen this joyous moment.

Jenny: What motivates you the most for your work?

Jerry: Seeing the joy on the faces of disabled children when they can play with their able-bodied friends.

Nia Technologies Is Rebuilding Lives In Virtual Reality, Reports VIVE

jevans@niatech.org (Jerry Evans) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 17:36:01 GMT

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We are proud to be showcased by Stephen Reid in VIVE blog for our work on OrthoVR , a solution that combines virtual reality with 3D software to help clinicians in resource poor setting produce 3D printed prosthetics and orthotics faster.

The following is an excerpt of the article. You can read the full story here .

Millions of people around the world suffer amputation and disability due to war, accident, and congenital conditions. Yet relatively few of them have access to mobility aids that would allow them to walk, a freedom most people take for granted. Without prosthetic limbs, it can be incredibly difficult to participate in education, work or even social activities, especially in the developing world. Beyond the tremendous impact this has on individuals, there are economic and social costs to families and even communities.

With the advent of low-cost 3D printing, the production of suitable prostheses is now possible almost anywhere. Organizations like Canadian non-profit Nia Technologies are helping clinics in low and middle-income countries to manufacture prosthetic and orthotic devices faster than ever before. From digital scanning through design and 3D print production, Nia is helping clinics across the developing world to serve people affected by missing limbs.

There’s one problem: the complexity of 3D design. The solution? It might be adding virtual reality to the process.

Traditionally, clinicians who work with prosthetic limbs are trained in manual practices, such as plaster casting, sanding and shaping of prostheses. While clinicians can see the benefits of using 3D printing to create materials, often they have difficulty in adapting to the other part of the design process: digital modeling.

With 3D printing solutions, clinicians are no longer working with their hands – they are working with a mouse. While some can adapt, for many it’s a difficult process. They’re used to touching, shaping and examining their creations, like so many craftspeople before them. While 3D printing makes the production process faster, ironically the challenge of visual design can make the overall process slower.

The solution could be virtual reality: making the design process truly three-dimensional, and putting creativity directly back into the hands of those creating these prostheses. This is exactly what OrthoVR aims to do.

Spiegel Online Features Nia Technologies In Article “3D Printing Offers New Hope To Amputees”

Wed, 31 Jan 2018 14:15:00 GMT

We are proud to be featured in a story by Benjamin Breitegger and Jelca Kollatsch in Spiegel Online for our work to develop technology that enables orthopaedic clinicians to produce high-quality 3D printed prosthetics and orthotics. You can read the full story here .

A steady chorus of honking rises from the heavy, chaotic traffic in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Drivers are happy to cut corners and even basic safety rules are ignored if a shortcut presents itself. Three years ago, Joan Gwokyalya found herself riding on the back of one of the tens of thousands of motorcycle taxis in the city as her driver wove in between the cars and buses.

Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground. And her life changed dramatically.

A bus had slammed into the motorcycle, killing the driver instantly. Gwokyalya survived, but doctors had to amputate her left leg below the knee. “I had a tetanus infection that began spreading in my leg,” Gwokyalya, who is now 25, recalls. She’s sitting in the garden of the CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital, one of the leading orthopedic facilities in East Africa. And the place where her life, badly disrupted by the accident, got back on track.

In many developing countries, injuries sustained in traffic accidents are among the primary causes for amputations, along with diabetes, infections and tumors. Some are likewise born missing an arm or a leg, while others might be the victims of landmines. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 30 million people living in developing countries require prosthetic limbs or other orthotic devices, but many are unable to afford them. Furthermore, many countries have a shortage of experts, material and prosthetic centers.

Recently, many specialists have begun placing their hopes in 3D printers, including those at CoRSU, where an orthopedic technician is scanning Gwokyalya’s stump. Using a hand-sized device, he scans the site of the amputation, with the results popping up on a laptop screen in real time. Gwokyalya is attentively watching every movement. She’s one of about 100 patients in Uganda who are taking part in a clinical study at the CoRSU hospital, which opened its doors in 2009 with the help of donations from countries around the world, including Germany. For the last two years, orthopedic technicians there — in cooperation with the Canadian NGO Nia Technologies and the University of Toronto — have been testing prosthetic sockets produced by a 3D printer.

Sunnybrook Hospital And Nia Technologies Receive Co-Design Grant From MaRS

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 17:00:00 GMT

On November 17, 2017, the MaRS Procurement by Co-Design Advisory Board announced the award Co-Design Grants to four innovation teams made up of Ontario healthcare delivery organizations and technology vendors.

Nia Technologies is proud to be partnered with Dr. Amanda Mayo, Amputee Rehab Physician of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, who was named a recipient of one of the grants.

The following is an excerpt from the announcement. You can read the full story here .

Dr. Amanda Mayo, Amputee Rehab Physician of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Matt Ratto, Chief Science Officer of Nia Technologies, are working to reduce the cost and time of lower limb prosthetic socket fabrication and prosthetic fitting. Currently, laborious manual plaster casting and prosthetic fabrication techniques lead to delays in fitting and patient rehab. Such delays put patients at higher risk for functional decline, contractures, pressure sores and falls. This co-design project seeks to return patients to walking sooner thus preventing functional decline while creating a more efficient and cost-effective process.

Nia Technologies Featured In Toronto Life As Tech Company Doing Good

Mon, 18 Sep 2017 18:25:36 GMT

We are proud to be featured in Toronto Life as a company in Toronto that is using technology for good. You can read the full story here .

A Geordi La Forge visor and other cool do-gooder gadgetry.

Engineering.com Features Nia Technologies In “Changing Lives — Custom Orthotics Let Kids Walk”

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 18:29:31 GMT

Roopinder Tara reports on Matt Ratto’s presentation of Nia Technologies and 3D PrintAbility at Autodesk U in November 2016, for Engineering.com (March 13, 2017). The following is an excerpt. You can read the full post here .

In recent years, 3D printing has facilitated important breakthroughs in the field of prosthetics. This has been particularly welcome in the developing world, where the need is greatest and resources are most limited. Nonprofit organizations and design schools are using technology for making customized, affordable prosthetic devices.

Canada-based nonprofit organization Nia Technologies is taking a different approach. While most organizations work directly with patients, Nia focuses on empowering the clinicians who make these devices. Matt Ratto, Nia’s chief science officer, spoke about his work at Autodesk’s annual conference, Autodesk University, in Las Vegas last November.

“Our work is driven by a set of social values,” said Ratto. “We start not just from technology, but from the values we use to change the way we design and the choices we make, in order to create real impact.” These values include innovation, environment-appropriate solutions, partnerships, and sustainability.

Nia Technologies Featured In Report By Mosaic Saying 3D Printing Could Transform Mobility For Millions

Sun, 19 Feb 2017 18:38:44 GMT

For people who are missing limbs, 3D printing can make new prosthetics – faster, cheaper and better. It could transform mobility for millions around the world, reports Ian Birrell in Mosaic (Feb 19, 2017). The following is excerpted from Mosaic’s article. Read the full article here .

Without a prosthetic limb, people struggle to fetch water, to prepare food and, above all, to work. This throws them back on their families and communities, intensifying any hardship and poverty.

One group that has spent almost three decades trying to tackle such issues is Exceed, a British charity set up by diplomats and academics at the request of Cambodia’s government to help thousands of landmine survivors. It works in five Asian countries, training people at schools of prosthetics and orthotics. In Cambodia, there are still almost 9,000 landmine survivors in need of artificial limbs, although these days traffic accidents are a more likely cause of disability, while children also need braces for a range of common conditions such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy and polio.

“If you wear a prosthesis you are disabled for about ten minutes in the morning while you have a shower, then you put your leg on and go to work. If you do not have one, then your hands are out of use with crutches so you can’t even take drinks to the table,” said Carson Harte, a 59-year-old prosthetist and chief executive of Exceed. “Without a prosthesis there are no expectations. You just go back and rely on the goodwill of your family.”

Exceed has begun a seven-month trial of 3D-printed devices in Cambodia with Nia Technologies, an innovative Canadian not-for-profit organisation. “This technology has the potential to increase the productivity of every technician,” said Harte. “It is not about printing off legs, nor does it replace the skills of a well-trained professional, but it has potential to produce a better, faster, more easily repeatable way of doing one key part of the chain. There are no magic bullets, but this may be an important incremental change.

“The key to success so far has been cross-fertilisation: putting engineers and prosthetist orthotists together. Engineers make broad assumptions that are not always right, prosthetist orthotists do not always know what engineers can do. Together we have made more advances in a few months than have been achieved in years, sorting our real problems in real time through collaboration.”

Nia is also trialling its 3D PrintAbility technology in Tanzania and Uganda, where there are only 12 prosthetists to serve a population of about 40 million people – and at the time of writing all six state clinics have run out of materials. Doctors there often deal with children who have lost limbs after falling in open cooking fires, while other youngsters need braces after suffering post-injection paralysis caused by badly administered jabs that damage nerves.

In Uganda their team is working with CoRSU hospital in Kisubi, a specialist rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities. Orthopaedic technician Moses Kaweesa said they found the technology lighter and faster to use, as well as easier for people in remote rural areas. “It used to take five days to have a limb manufactured, with lots of hanging around for the patient. Now it is barely two days, so they spend much less time in the hospital. There is also less waste of material, so for a country like ours this can help so much by cutting down the costs.”

The first person to test out a 3D-printed mobility device was a four-year-old girl who until then had dragged herself across floors and had to be carried around by her family. “When she was born her leg was missing the right foot,” said her older brother. “It was very difficult for her to walk, to play with other children. She can be lonely. But when she was given a leg she was able to run with others, play with others.”

Matt Ratto, Nia’s chief science officer, who led the project’s development, admitted that it was only when he saw the serious-looking child in her red dress start to walk that he realised his technology actually worked. But, like Harte, he urges caution. “We are surrounded by the hype of 3D printing with crazy, ridiculous claims being made,” he said. “We must be cautious. A lot of these technologies fail not for engineering reasons but because they are not designed for the developing world. You can’t just smash in these new technologies.

“A lot of what we are doing is social innovation. People think you are threatening to replace prosthetists, which is a problem since they can be hesitant to embrace it just like in the developing world. We are trying to develop a bridge between the North and South but we have to work with the people on the ground to build their capacity. They are the experts – and they are deeply interested in doing whatever they can to get the children walking.”

Ratto’s aim is to use their technology to fit 8,000 people with 3D-printed mobility devices within five years, across some 20 sites in low-income countries. “My sense if we get this right is that the growth can be exponential. If we iron out the kinks and work out the best way to help clinicians I think we will see something of a hockey-stick curve on the graph. But we must not get it wrong, move too fast nor over-hype the potential.”

This article first appeared in Mosaic and is partially republished here under a Creative Commons licence.

3D Printers From Nia Technologies Allow Tanzania Hospital To Make Artificial Limbs More Quickly, Video By VOA

Mon, 06 Feb 2017 18:49:30 GMT

Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CCBRT) hospital is using 3D printers to make artificial limbs, shortening a process that used to take weeks to just a few hours. Researchers want to see if this technology can be scaled up to meet the needs of the estimated 3.5 million people living with a disability in Tanzania. For VOA, Willy Lowry has the story from Dar es Salaam. Watch VOA’s video here .

Nia’s Matt Ratto Interviewed On CBC Radio For “Canadian Innovators Use Technology To Improve Global Health”

Sun, 05 Feb 2017 21:38:54 GMT

February 5, 2017. CBC Radio, World This Weekend. James Murray reports on how Canadian innovators are using technology to improve lives in developing countries. Matt Ratto, Nia’s Chief Science Officer, comments on how technology must be shaped to fit society, not the other way round

Stories of Impact: Meet Ruth

Thu, 10 Nov 2016 22:50:59 GMT

A well-fitting prosthesis has the power to transform a life.

Mobility devices offer children and youth with disabilities hope, opportunity, and the chance to fulfill their dreams. They also offer a way to contest stigma and give hope and better health to some of the world’s poorest children and youth with disabilities, like Ruth Nakaye in Uganda.

Ruth is a bright and lively 21-year old student in Kampala. Born with a congenital condition, Ruth has one leg shorter than the other. Traditionally in Africa, children with partial or missing limbs were outcast as abnormal. Fortunately attitudes are changing and when children like Ruth are fitted with a mobility device, they have a chance to show the world what they can do.

At the age of 8, Ruth underwent surgery to remove part of her shorter leg so that she could be fitted with her first prosthetic limb. Although her mother and friends had always been supportive, with her new-found mobility she noticed that others became more accepting of her.

In 2015, Ruth was one of the first people in the world to be fitted with a 3DPA prosthetic socket at CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital in Entebbe.

She thinks that 3D PrintAbility could help many more people like her because the design and production process is faster than other methods. What this means in her life is that she misses only 1 day of school instead of the 5 days she used to miss when a plaster-cast device was made for her using the conventional manual process. She knows from experience that faster production will save families time and money.

Ruth is part of Nia’s 2016 3D PrintAbility study at CoRSU and is testing out a new 3D printed prosthetic socket. Her early assessment is that it feels lighter, softer, and more flexible than a traditional prosthetic.

Ruth’s attitude to life: “I can do anything.”

3D Printing Can Revolutionise The Medical Profession, Reports The Guardian

Thu, 29 Sep 2016 23:01:36 GMT

The Guardian’s Amy Fallon features Nia Technologies in her report on September 29, 2016 about groundbreaking 3D printing and scanning techniques that are improving access to fully customisable artificial limbs. Below is an excerpt of the article. You can read the full story here .

Before the vehicle that she was travelling in flipped over and trapped her right leg, Leakhena Laing was a happy teenager who enjoyed climbing trees and playing football with friends. After her limb was amputated, she could only sit and watch.

“It was difficult to even get a glass of water. I felt hopeless, very sad and embarrassed to be around other people,” says Laing, who was forced to abandon school after the accident nearly four years ago.

She used crutches for two years, before receiving a below-knee (transtibial) prosthetic plaster limb, which improved the quality of her life, although it meant regular visits to a clinic in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, nearly 30 miles away from her home in Borset district, for refittings.

Today, aged 18, Laing’s part of a ground-breaking trial by the Canadian non-profit social enterprise Nia Technologies, aiming to produce high quality mobility devices for children and young people more quickly than the conventionally produced plaster cast method – using a 3D printer and other 3D technology.

The Phnom Penh Post Says Innovative Trial To Put Printed Prosthetics In Reach

Sun, 04 Sep 2016 02:32:33 GMT

TNia Technologies is proud to be featured by Audrey Wilson in The Phnom Penh Post for its work with Exceed Social Enterprises to put 3D printed prosthetics in reach. Below is is an excerpt from the article “Innovative trial to put printed prosthetics in reach”. You can read the full article here .

In a waiting room in Stung Meanchey last week, 21-year-old Ouk Vy sat patiently as technicians fitted him with a small socket to connect his right leg – which was amputated at the knee last year after a traffic accident – to a new prosthetic limb.

Vy then stood and took a step forward, as he has many times before.

This new socket is different from others he has worn out: it is the first to be made from a scan and then manufactured from scratch in just a few hours in the only 3D-printing lab for below-the-knee (more technically, “trans-tibial”) prostheses in Cambodia. The lab began its first clinical trial last week, and Vy was first in line.

Many standard prostheses have a lifespan of only a few years – and just a few months for growing kids. That means a lot of re-fittings. At its core, the 3D-printing process mirrors that of being fitted for a normal prosthesis; it’s just easier – and, ideally, more comfortable for the patient.

Traditionally, a prosthetist – someone who makes prosthetic items (which are known in the trade as prostheses) – would wrap a limb at the stump to protect it; then make a plaster mould; then cut it off, fill it in, strip the bandage and wait for the plaster to dry. But with a 3D scanner, a digital replica of a limb can be made in just a half hour – and there’s no mess.

“That is the holy grail as a prosthetist,” says Ken McCrea, the Scot who oversees the project. “Getting exactly what you want. And it’s replicable.”

Moreover, that model then exists on a computer and can be digitally tweaked for particularities rather than with hand tools. Finally, an operator sends the data to the printer and within three to nine hours – depending on whether it’s a socket or something larger – a polypropylene copy appears.

The four-month clinical trial applies existing, relatively inexpensive technology in a new way to address a persistent problem: the demand for new prostheses in a country like Cambodia.

McCrea is the head of UK-based Exceed Social Enterprises, which is running the project here in partnership with Nia Technologies, a non-profit that has piloted two trials in Uganda.

University of Toronto developed solution for 3D printing artificial limbs going global

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 16:36:17 GMT

Suddenly, she was thrown to the ground. And her life changed dramatically.

CoRSU Starts Field Testing 3D Printed Orthopaedic Devices For Children With Disabilities

jevans@niatech.org (Jerry Evans) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:02:25 GMT

Kampala, Uganda – Monday June 13, 2016: CoRSU Rehabilitation Hospital is once again hosting Canadian researchers from Nia Technologies Inc. (Nia) and the University of Toronto to field test 3D PrintAbility technology innovation with orthopaedic clinicians and young people with disabilities (5-25 years). 3D PrintAbility uses 3D scanning, modelling, and printing technologies to design and make custom mobility devices. Originally developed to produce 3D printed transtibial (below-the-knee) prostheses, the product line has expanded to include much-needed Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs or braces), devices used to treat club foot, post-injection paralysis, and other common causes of disability among children in Uganda.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to improve patient care and increase access to life-changing mobility devices. We are therefore proud that 3D PrintAbility’s first-ever field test was at CoRSU in 2015. It proved that prosthetic socket production time could be cut by as much as 70%, from 5 days with conventional manual methods to 1.5 days with 3D PrintAbility. We are excited to see how the technology and materials have developed since the research team was last in Uganda,” says Moses Kaweesa, an Orthopaedic Technologist at CoRSU.

This research is intended to develop innovations that integrate with current practices and increase efficiencies. “Clinical partners are critical to our efforts to develop 3D PrintAbility as a solution that will work in resource-limited settings. Together, we are creating a system that builds on the skills and expertise of orthopaedic clinicians, allowing them to minimize time on manual production and maximize time on decisions about device design, fit, and patient care,” explains Jerry Evans, Nia’s Chief Executive Officer.

The collaboration between CoRSU and Nia is aimed at transferring technology in appropriate and sustainable ways that improve access to transformative mobility devices for children with disabilities. Production efficiencies will improve patient care: with less time spent at hospital for patients and caregivers when the device is made (one overnight stay instead of a week); and with improved health and social well-being.

In 2016, 3D PrintAbility is being field tested with clinical evaluations in Uganda and other countries. The purpose of the clinical evaluations is to further test: the appropriateness of 3D PrintAbility as a tool for orthopaedic clinicians in resource-limited settings; the biomechanical robustness and safety of 3D printed devices; and the strength, durability, fit, and comfort of the devices to children and youth with disabilities.

Nia’s team will be at CoRSU from June 10-17 to launch the start of the clinical evaluation which will run from June-October 2016.

About CoRSU

CoRSU is a Non-Governmental Organization that was founded in 2006 as a Centre for surgery and rehabilitation for people with disability, with special focus on children for whom we provide free surgery. The hospital specializes in Orthopaedic and Plastic/Reconstructive surgery and has made a tremendous contribution towards improved quality of life for people with disabilities. Additionally, we provide assistive devices, physiotherapy and Community Based Rehabilitation (CBR) to our patients to enhance full recovery. Every year, over 4600 surgical procedures are performed to correct deformities and improve mobility and quality of life.

About Nia Technologies Inc.

Nia Technologies Inc. is a Canadian non-profit social enterprise that develops and deploys 3D PrintAbility orthopaedic solutions in developing countries. Formed and owned by cbm Canada, Nia is supported by the University of Toronto, Grand Challenges Canada, and other foundations and donors. niatech.org

Nia Receives $1.5M CAD To Scale 3D PrintAbility

jevans@niatech.org (Jerry Evans) — Tue, 10 May 2016 12:10:58 GMT

Grand Challenges Canada, Google.org, Autodesk Foundation, and Stronger Philanthropy fund 3D printing innovation – technology designed to cut production time for prosthetic and orthotic devices

May 10, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario): Canadian non-profit start-up Nia Technologies Inc. (Nia) has been awarded over $1.5 M CAD by Grand Challenges Canada, Google.org, Autodesk Foundation, and Stronger Philanthropy to trial and scale its 3D PrintAbility innovation. Hatched as an idea by cbm Canada, and developed in collaboration with the University of Toronto iSchool’s Semaphore research cluster and Autodesk Research, 3D PrintAbility is a viable, deployable digital toolchain that promises to cut production time and increase output in overtaxed orthopaedic workshops in developing countries.

Preliminary testing of 3D PrintAbility in Uganda in 2015 enabled local orthopaedic technologists to produce high-quality, better-fitting devices more quickly than with conventional methods, reducing production time from 5 days to 1.5 days. The toolchain combines specialized 3D scanning, modelling, and printing software with commercially available scanners and printers to produce custom prosthetic and orthotic devices for young people with lower limb disabilities.

“Funding is the lifeblood of innovation. It’s also a vote of confidence in 3D PrintAbility’s potential to increase access to life-changing prosthetic and orthotic devices in low- and mid-income countries,” says Jerry Evans, Nia President and CEO. “Grand Challenges Canada, Google.org, Autodesk Foundation, Stronger Philanthropy, and other donors are enabling us to rigorously trial the 3D PrintAbility toolchain in workshops in developing countries and create support mechanisms that enhance the knowledge and skills of local orthopaedic personnel.”

Building on its earlier funding of 3D PrintAbility’s development, Grand Challenges Canada is supporting Nia’s efforts to scale the technology. “Grand Challenges Canada, funded by the Government of Canada, is pleased to support this bold idea which will have the immediate impact of helping an estimated 225 children and youth to walk and could transform how prosthetics are made,” says Dr. Peter A. Singer, Chief Executive Officer of Grand Challenges Canada.

Grand Challenges Canada’s funding is matched with grants from Autodesk Foundation, Google.org, Stronger Philanthropy, and others. This combined funding allows Nia to build its capacity, conduct ongoing R&D, expand the trials of 3D PrintAbility in developing countries, transfer knowledge to more orthopaedic personnel, and create an open source online support system for local technologists to test the quality of orthopaedic devices they design and print.

3D PrintAbility is being developed in Nia Technologies’ lab space at University of Toronto’s iSchool and will undergo further clinical trials in Uganda and other low-income countries starting in June 2016.

ABOUT NIA TECHNOLOGIES INC.

NIA MEDIA CONTACT

Kathleen Gotts, kgotts@niatech.org, 647.969.9351

Google.org Funds Nia Technologies To Improve Access To Prosthetic And Orthotic Devices For Children With Disabilities In Developing Countries

jevans@niatech.org (Jerry Evans) — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 12:16:43 GMT

3D printing innovation shows potential to significantly increase output of orthopaedic workshops

April 12, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario): Nia Technologies Inc. (Nia) has received US$400,000 from Google.org to develop its 3D PrintAbility solutions and build an open source digital platform for orthopaedic technologists. Nia’s 3D PrintAbility uses 3D technologies to produce better-fitting prosthetic limbs at a faster rate than current manual methods. With Google.org’s funding, Nia is well-positioned to support the technology transfer, skills development, and productivity gains that will give more children with disabilities the life-changing prosthetic and orthotic devices they need.

Up to 95% of the people in developing countries who need assistive devices are unable to access them. Obstacles to access include a shortage of orthopaedic personnel, labour-intensive production methods, and significant costs to patients, especially those who have to travel vast distances for treatment.

Early testing indicates that 3D PrintAbility produces robust prosthetic devices in less time than similar devices produced with current manual methods. “We’re excited to see production times cut from an average of 5 days to as little as 1.5 days. This means that with existing infrastructure, more children in need will get prosthetic devices and enjoy a better quality of life,” says Jerry Evans, Nia’s CEO. Nia is continuing to test 3D PrintAbility with clinical trials in Uganda and other developing countries in 2016.

Since May 2015, Google has put $20 million in Google.org grants behind non-profits like Nia who use emerging technologies to increase independence for people living with disabilities. “The Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities set out to accelerate the use of technology to create meaningful change in the lives of the one billion people in the world with a disability,” says Brigitte Gosselink, Head of the Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities. “We’re eager to watch as today’s winners, selected from over 1,000 submissions from around the world, build new solutions that will transform lives and make the world more accessible for all.”

Evans says, “We are thrilled to be supported by a great organization like Google. Nia and Google are driven by a shared goal: to transfer technology in appropriate and sustainable ways that will improve access to transformative devices for children with disabilities in the world’s poorest countries.”

About Nia Technologies Inc: Nia Technologies Inc. is a Canadian non-profit social enterprise that develops and deploys 3D PrintAbility orthopaedic solutions in developing countries. Formed and owned by cbm Canada, Nia is supported by the University of Toronto, Grand Challenges Canada, and other foundations and donors. niatech.org

About Google.org: Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, supports non-profits that innovate to address humanitarian issues. Google.org was created to pursue, experiment with, and build upon ideas to improve the world, and continues to take an iterative approach to philanthropy today. Google.org develops and invests in pursuits that can have measurable impact on local, regional and global issues, and rallies Google’s people in support of these efforts with a singular goal of creating a better world, faster. g.co/disabilities .

Media Contact for Nia Technologies:

Kathleen Gotts, kgotts@niatech.org , 647-969-9351