MOFO

We leveraged our unique experience and insights from our years of clinical experience in our prosthetic clinic to transform the way the military connects to tools, equipment,  weapons, COMMS, armor, gear, even exoskeletons. Enter our  patents-pending Motion-Capturing Fast Access Osseostabilizing (MOFO) limb exoskeleton, a design that bridges the gap between the overloaded soldier and the complex powered exoskeletons. Our MOFO is based on application of our Osseostabilization™ principles through a Compression Release Stabilized (CRS) system conceived by our CEO Randall Alley. This arrangement results in a syncing of the interface (and hence the external device connected to it) to skeletal motion, an effect dubbed Osseosynchronization™.

Our MOFO is a multi-use exo system that enhances the warfighter’s ability to shoot, move, communicate, and protect without adversely affecting range of motion or impacting metabolic efficiency. The MOFO is not designed to lift heavy loads or leap tall buildings, but rather to be a force multiplier. It allows for rapid access to mission critical gear and redistribution of a small portion of weight and bulk from backpacks and/or vests for improved posture and dynamic balance, mitigating injuries incurred over long marches or during battlefield maneuvering. The MOFO is also suitable as a highly stabilized armor platform allowing a significant offset between the plate and skin, greatly reducing injury caused by non-lethal or partial penetration. Its ability to mount and stabilize a display on the forearm also improves situational awareness. The MOFO platform provides more immediate access to equipment and tools for the operator but also others in close proximity that might need access to mounted gear.

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DARPA

Adaptive Diagnostic Tooling for Customized Upper Limb Prosthetic Socket Fitment (D15PC00174)

DARPA and DEKA both realized, as do we, the success and adoption of their “LUKE” Bionic Arm relies on something beyond their control – the prosthetist. Many think the device or component attached to the user is key to user success with a system, however the interface is the most critical aspect for determining wearer success or failure. There are numerous challenges present for upper limb amputees including prosthetists’ limited experience fitting upper limb patients, and Standard of Care (SOC) fitting techniques that often yield biomechanically flawed sockets that are uncomfortable, unstable, and impede full range of motion. The result – compromised device performance or device abandonment, despite having the most advanced prosthetic components.

To address these challenges, DARPA sought the development of innovative diagnostic tools to improve socket fittings and socket performance, thus enabling prosthetists to more successfully and systematically deploy advanced upper extremity prostheses. To solve these issues, biodesigns was awarded a $1.5M Direct to Phase II + Option contract through the SBIR/DARPA program. Randall Alley was the primary interface consultant engaged by DEKA on the LUKE arm project, as part of DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics Program, RP2007, but this particular award (#D15PC00174) was biodesigns’ first DARPA contract.

Alley’s HiFi Interface™ and HiFi Imager™ System with Osseostabilization™ technology was successfully utilized in DEKA’s LUKE arm studies and was the platform technology for biodesigns’ DARPA contract. At the conclusion of the research, biodesigns successfully delivered a socket fitting system that had 100% acceptance rate with subjects in a multi-site IRB. Deliverables also included sensorized socket data, including shear and pressure, and the creation of metrics to relate fitment diagnostics to prosthesis performance, setting the stage for new standards necessary for improved socket fit. Currently, biodesigns is seeking commercialization partners to further expand this innovative research.

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