Attracting innovation in child prosthetics

Innovation in child prosthetics has seen great advances in recent years, aided by an increased profile of the prosthetics field as well as the Government’s move to help future generations of young people who have either been born without a limb or have lost a limb. Having the correct prosthetic enables children to play, socialise, go to school and above all enjoy a happy, healthy lifestyle. 

However, child prosthetics is a relatively small market with complex needs. There is a lack of awareness of children’s specific needs due to a lack of access to user requirement information; an area that urgently needs to be addressed. Further challenges exist in terms of a lack of access to enough specialists in child prosthetics; and even research and development investment is commercially challenging due to low return on investment rates.

Through an analysis of the publicly funded research projects in the UK, 100 projects in the field of prosthetics (broadest definition including implantable and other external prosthesis such as eyes and ears) were identified, totalling £44 million of research funding. Only 10% of the funding (£4.4 m) was relevant to limb prosthetics and none specifically targeting children or young limb prosthesis users.