Company recognized for its achievements in the development and commercial success of the i-LIMB Hand
Touch Bionics (www.touchbionics.com), developer of advanced upper-limb bionic technologies, today announced it is a winner of the prestigious Queen's Awards for Enterprise with an award in the Innovation category for 2010. The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are the UK's most prestigious awards for business performance.
During an intensive application process for the award, Touch Bionics was scrutinized on both its innovation and business performance. Applicant companies had to demonstrate substantial improvement in business performance and commercial success.
"It could be said that our outstanding business success over the past three years has been somewhat outshone by the incredible reception given to our technology and patient stories, and so it is particularly gratifying to have secured a Queen's Award for Enterprise, which looks beyond pure technical prowess to examine the commercial aspects of a business," said Stuart Mead, Touch Bionics' CEO. "With the commercial launch of the i-LIMB Hand in 2007, we created a new category in upper-limb prosthetic technology, and we have been the sole company driving this market for almost three years now - an experience that has been both challenging and rewarding."
Since the launch of the i-LIMB Hand, more than 1,200 patients worldwide have been fitted with the first powered prosthetic hand to incorporate multi-articulating fingers. The i-LIMB Hand is the world's first microprocessor controlled, myoelectric hand with five articulating digits, including a rotatable thumb, to offer users a range of grip patterns previously unavailable to them. With a range of cosmesis options and available in a variety of different sizes, including low profile feminine, the i-LIMB Hand is designed to meet the varied needs of its users.
The company's innovation has not abated, and the company launched its ProDigits technology in December 2009, providing the first powered solution for people with missing fingers. ProDigits has generated widespread interest among the partial-hand community and is currently being fitted through Touch Bionics' network of Touch Life Center clinics in the United States and at its busy Centre of Excellence in the United Kingdom.
Commercially, Touch Bionics has also realized significant success through the 2008 acquisition of US company LIVINGSKIN, a provider of incredibly lifelike, aesthetic prosthetic products. The acquisition not only brought Touch Bionics a valuable complementary product line, but also a physical presence in North America, through an established network of clinics that now form the basis of the company's Touch Life Center organization.
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