Össur acquires powered ankle technology from Springactive Inc.
Global prosthetics innovator Össur has purchased technology related to the development of a powered ankle prosthesis from SpringActive, Inc., a privately held engineering firm that specializes in computer controlled prosthetic devices and industrial exo-systems, the companies announced jointly today.
SpringActive’s powered prosthetic ankle technology enables the user to run and ambulate on all terrain, providing a range of motion intended to allow the user to balance and perform natural ankle positions. This acquisition concludes a multi-year collaboration where the teams from Össur and SpringActive explored the technology’s potential to spread across multiple product platforms within Össur. This successful collaboration was the result of a strong working relationship between the organizations and the complementary attributes between the two R&D groups.
Össur pioneered the bionic prosthetic field with the launch of several bionic prostheses; its BIONIC line is comprised of a range of battery-powered “smart” limbs that were designed to replicate the functionality of lost limbs. The strategic relationship between Össur and SpringActive has helped further Össur’s mission while also strengthening SpringActive’s ability to innovate in the O&P market.
According to Sigurdsson, the purchase of SpringActive’s technology is aimed at further strengthening Össur‘s R&D activities, product innovation, and growing the company’s already strong of Intellectual Property portfolio. The purchase will not have an impact on Össur‘s financial guidance for 2019.
“At Össur, we are committed to continually driving innovation in the field of prosthetics to empower more people to enjoy a life without limitations. Our continuous exploration for these technologies is what brought our attention to SpringActive. Their accomplishments in Robotics offer important opportunities in the development of future generations of BIONIC prosthetic solutions. We are excited about this patent-protected technology and the opportunity it represents in expanding our lower limb Bionic product offering, which currently includes the RHEO KNEE®, the POWER KNEE™and the PROPRIO FOOT®”
Jon Sigurdsson, the company’s CEO
“Össur’s unmatched expertise in biomechanical functioning and proven ability to test and commercialize BIONIC products makes them the ideal candidate for fully leveraging the technology developed by SpringActive. This acquisition adds fuel to SpringActive’s innovation engine and supports our expansion efforts into the rapidly growing industrial exoskeleton market.”
Dr. Jeffrey Ward, SpringActive’s Director of R&D