Bristol manufacturer receives funding to realise expansion plans

Open Bionics, a prosthetics manufacturer based in Bristol, recently secured a substantial loan.

Using intellectual property as security, the firm received £600,000 to help it accelerate its business plans in America, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Each year in the UK, manufacturing business loans let expanding enterprises advance their aims, helping fund new ventures like setting up additional sites and building a successful reputation in foreign markets.

The British prosthetics manufacturer is focused on making bionic arms readily accessible to individuals with limb differences. The newly acquired funding will let Open Bionics establish six more clinics in the Unites States, allowing more patients to gain access to its “Hero Arm”. The bionic prosthetic has a movable thumb and fingers that empower amputees whose arms were removed below the elbow to grasp and pinch objects. The revolutionary equipment makes daily activities like brushing teeth or holding a bag possible for those with limb differences.

The company’s goal is to improve accessibility for cutting-edge bionic arms for the 70% of amputees who currently reside outside of the system. These include patients who have abandoned their initial prosthesis, were turned away or were not referred to a suitable health care provider.

Open Bionics has also made robotic arms designed for children that capture the style of superheroes they favour. Here in the UK, the NHS made several of the company’s products like the Hero gauntlet, Hero Arm and Hero Flex available to patients across England, Scotland and Wales that can meet policy criteria.