Our Story : How did the world’s first 3D-Printed prosthetics provider begin?

The foundation of Instalimb was laid in early 2014, when Yutaka Tokushima; our CEO, met a helpless diabetic gangrene patient while working as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer. A man residing in the remote regions of Philippines, inaccessible to prosthetics and proper medical facilities. He was living under the constant fear of the outcomes that amputation can cause. Especially, on his lifestyle in terms of earning capacity and lack of normalcy led to his untimely demise.

Another realization happened when the lack of any prosthetics clinic in the region was identified. Even when clinics were available, high dependency of the quality went onto the individual skills of prosthetists. This made it difficult for amputees to access good prosthetic legs. This led to be a major motivation in the ideology of creating a world where everyone in need can get a prosthetic. By installing technology that ensures a standardized fabrication without compromising the quality. Furthermore, this was not just a problem in the Philippines, but something that affects lives on a global scale.

Returning to Japan, as a researcher at Keio University, and an entrepreneur, his journey of developing a solution started taking shape. It took almost 3 years to construct a 3D printer and 3D-CAD for artificial legs with significant help from various professionals and we were ready to begin in 2017. This followed a year of developing PoC for 39 users with ISO compliance in the year 2018. Since then, we’ve come a long way – From providing 1000+ prosthetics since June 2019 to 2000+ waiting users (as per the report until October’ 21). Now, we are here in India, aiming to improve the Quality of life of amputees as well as the amputated limb. 

~ A journey for a better tomorrow.

If you’re a new amputee, don’t forget to check our one stop guide!

The advancement of 3D printing technology has the potential to revolutionize the production of prosthetics. Making it more feasible and efficient. To avail more information; this is the time to reach out to us and try a test socket free of cost. Step it up with Instalimb – Contact us today!