We live in times when foot deformities have become a civilization disease that causes high social costs that are still growing. State budgets are increasingly burdened due to the accumulated effect of costly surgical treatments as well as benefits paid to patients on their sick leave. Our modern lifestyle impacts on the efficiency of the musculoskeletal system resulting in foot deformities. Poor nutritional habits lead to obesity, increasing static and dynamic loads placed upon the foot. Among possible deformities, the most common occurrence can be attributed to Hallux Valgus (HV), often referred to as „a bunion,” a deformity of the big toe. Estimates for HV are of 23% in adults aged 18-65 years and 35.7% in older adults aged over 65 years (mostly women). Nuisances associated with foot deformities intensify with time leading to the elimination or exclusion from the labour market, and exposing states’ budgets to disburse social funds and pensions. Only the cost of surgical treatments of HV in the EU may be modestly estimated to reach over EUR 500 mln p.a. At CompleVita, we have developed an advanced dynamic orthosis which addresses the source of the problem which is a distortion of the transverse and longitudinal foot arches. Our solution provides much better efficiency in the treatment of HV than any other static orthosis available in the market. It also provides a cheaper, less risky for the patient, alternative to surgical treatment. We are currently aiming to commercialise our solution, also as a preventive measure, targeting the potential market worth over €6.3 Bn. Building on successful tests already conducted with volunteer patients and warm welcome during medical conferences we are convinced that our patents – protected orthosis matches true needs of the end users and provides promising business opportunity.
We are looking for partners to develop our products as well as distributors for foreign markets.
Presenter:
Monika Piwowar
CompleVita
I am an employee of the Jagiellonian University Medical College and I am actively involved in the CompleVita team.
Together with my colleague dr Jacek Dygut I am developing and implementing new therapeutic and prophylactic approaches.
