Life and Limb (P) Ltd

Life and Limb (P) Ltd. aims to provide a cost-effective and high-quality prosthesis solution for patient-specific fitment, with a dedicated team of professionals, and appreciated by its users. We seek to cater to 5 lac people in India, having upper limb amputation.  Available prosthesis solutions in the market are very high in cost, thus making them unaffordable to a large section of people and the quality of the product is not cost-effective. In our product, we are using myo-sensors which are non-invasive. The arm and design of the fingers are such that they will allow water resistance and thus enhance the life cycle of the prosthesis. Also,  the BOM of our product is very less compared to other competitors which allows us to provide a quality product at a reasonable price.  Presently, We are at the MVP stage, and we are hopeful to have a clinical validation by the end of Q1 2022. We are also planning to launch our product into the market by Q3 2022.

 After having the product launched in India, we want to tap into the international market, as the demand for a good prostheses solution for amputees is very high worldwide.

Globally, there are around 1.5 million reported upper limb amputees.

Based on the priority of problems reported by trans-radial amputation patients we have come up with 5 major problems, we are trying to solve: 

• Available prosthetic hands introduce body fatigue and aren't comfortable wearing considering the poor fit and design of the prosthetic socket.

• Available sockets bring sweat and are heavy.

• High-end versions of the hand available/imported to India aren't affordable by more than 47% of the reported trans-radial amputees. 

• The hand lacks enough strength to hold objects and requires frequent charging.

• Frequent visits are required to the hospital/clinics and errors in measuring the size of the residual stump.

In our market analysis of the Indian population, we find out that out of 23,500 annual upper-limb amputees, around 15000 people reach out to Prosthetists and Orthotists to enquire about a prosthetic hand but only 4,500 end up getting one. Thus, showing us an unmet need of around 10,500 amputees. We are trying to fill this gap and cater to such 10.5K upper limb amputees annually. 

People with amputation suffer from psychological morbidity, decreased self-esteem. We want to make an impact in their lives by providing them with a prosthetic solution that will uplift their self-esteem and also help them to realize that they are as capable as any other human being. Our goal is to empower them and make them feel strong and not look at their disability as a hindrance to achieving anything. 

Nishant Agarwal

All the electronics in our hand are present inside the palm thus keeping the stump lightweight and freedom to keep the size of the hand customized to each individual. Also, since we are using a single actuator, the battery life is prolonged. Since the stump is 3D printed and hollow, it leads to a lighter hand and is easier to carry. The hand is water-proof and the compliant mechanism enables the finger strength to be more when compared with competitors. Our hand requires less number of visits to the doctor when compared to our competitors since it is customised. Also, the BOM of our product is very less when compared to the competitors.

Our product is a  multi-fingered prosthetic hand consisting of a smart, single actuator, and water-resistant electronic interface with myo-control, reducing the hardware complexity and the cost. Furthermore, the hand will be highly functional when performing day-to-day activities involving adaptive grasp and pinch using current thresholding, eliminating the use of force sensors on the fingers. The key defining factor of the innovation is the use of additive manufacturing technology to come up with snap joints or compliant joints to reduce the number of child parts, ease out the assembly, and thus cost-effectiveness to achieve greater affordability. The socket is digitally fabricated using 3D scanning and requires minimal user engagement.

We are targeting the people with upper limb amputation who want a prosthetic hand and are not getting one due to poor design options. Based on the reasons cited by such users, we have identified the problem statement and our solution aligns with it.

We are on the way to complete the product validation by Q4-2021. We are targeting to get pre-clinical approval for pilot A with 5 units and pilot B with 50 units by Q1-2022. We are also setting up a proper workflow of the process, are in talks with different manufacturers for mass production, leading to scale up by the end of Q2-2022. For Q3-2022, we are planning to enter other markets as well. 

In 5 years, We see L&L as the top seller for prosthetic hands in India and entering few other countries.

Currently, we are measuring our progress based on how many P&Os are interested to hear our product and ready to sell. We already have connected with 20 P&Os in India which cater to around 250 patients yearly. For our product, based on the number of grip patterns it can perform and it’s performance. Apart from it, the funding agencies and the globally renowned channels that are happy to facilitate our startup are other key parameters that are helping us measure our success.

• We are lacking office space to set up the workshop for manufacturing mass orders.

• Since we are at a very initial stage, few people are working on multiple things. For the scale up, we require dedicated folks for a single line of work. 

• We need to get the compliances done for our product before it’s sale. 

• Hiring and purchasing machinery with limited funds while sustaining the team.

We have planned to overcome the barriers given above:

Lack of Office space: We have applied for a few applications that will offer us workable office space at optimum cost. Apart  from this we are planning to invest some share of funding to accommodate at least all the technical people for prototyping the product.

Few employees doing multiple things: We are growing  and will hire more employees, and once we get a few people on Board, that barrier can readily be eradicated.

Team for fulfilling Compliances: We're gonna make a team that will only do research for the compliances  and the requirements for those to get them.

Requirement of Funding: We are at the MVP stage, and will soon pitch to a few more venture capitalists or angel investors to get more funding.

We have a team of fourteen people including four full-time employees, six part-time employees and four interns. 

Life and Limb's founders and core team members are active alumni of IIT Kanpur. Nishant Agarwal [Founder & CEO] completed his MS [by Research] from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IIT Kanpur in 2018. Madhav Londhe [Technical Lead] is pursuing his Ph.D. from the same department. Mayank Verma [Research Analyst] and Sachin Chauhan [Finance Lead] completed their M.tech in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Prachi Kharb [Co-Founder & COO] and Shivi Agarwal [Business Head] are experienced professionals and supporting us to strategize on the business side.We are highly trained in the domain of computational mechanics and manufacturing sciences with a wonderful set of mentors and advisors from a medical and clinical background. Further, our expertise in product development would further project us at the forefront of the domain of assistive technology.

We Regularly engage in open, honest, and multidirectional dialogue at different levels, and work on developing a shared understanding that achieving diversity takes commitment and hard work from every member of the team. Our team contains people from the age group 25-60. Apart from it, we have founders from 2 genders. In our first pilot phase testing also, we have selected a diverse group of patients to understand their requirements properly. One of the key criteria of selection of team members was presence of compassion and empathy; for everybody to love the problem that we are solving. 

Life and Limb (P) Ltd incubated at IIT Kanpur. We have received a letter of intent from KIWANIS Artificial Limb Centre, Delhi and have also got the order to deliver 50 pilot units by Q1-2022. We have received a positive response from AIIPMR Mumbai for collaborative support in the distribution and product outreach. We have also collaborated with Autodesk foundation for free availability of CAD design software.

Apart from this, ASME is facilitating us for our design validation while Portescap is helping us in procuring the actuators for the hand.

Our Key stakeholders are Rehabilitation centers, P&O clinics, non-profit government organizations, etc.  and we are providing value to them with our  state-of-the-art prosthetic solution in the following ways:

1. By achieving social inclusion for all amputees with our solution so that they can live more with our product.

2. By providing them prosthetic solutions at a comparatively cost-effective price. 

3. By creating a positive mindset, coupled with physical rehabilitation, for the amputees with our  prosthetic devices, amputees can have a tremendous improvement in their quality of life.

4. By regaining employment, supporting themselves and their  family which is not only possible but very common.

We aim to empower them through our solution and ultimately help them get employed. 

We are applying to the Future of work in India and Indonesia Challenge to get access to the international market. We also want to enhance our network with mentors and coaches across industries and sectors from this challenge. 

The grant money would be very beneficial to scale up our start-up further. The grant money would help us to create a product, suitable to market and to get a manufacturing license through regulatory approvals. Also, the grant money will help us to purchase the necessary equipment/Filaments/Materials to carry out day-to-day operations.

We would like to have mentorship to accomplish our goals through this partnership. We are hoping to get collaborate with healthcare facilities of the international market to get connected to more amputees which will help us in customising our product as per their needs and driving a pilot project before presenting our product into the market. Through this partnership we hope to connect with more funders and investors so that we can secure funding which will ultimately help us in prototyping and scaling. Also, hoping to find the right set of mentors for regulatory compliance and regulatory approvals.