CAST3D: A Customised Wrist Splint for Acute Musculoskeletal Conditions

Medipex helped the Additive Design team, using support from Innovate UK Business Growth, to understand NHS clinical pathways of interest and provide a commercial overview. Medipex provided Additive Design with valuable insights for their innovation, a better understanding of procurement and a strong foundation for future projects.

The Clinical Need

Orthotic devices are currently used to help manage recovery from acute musculoskeletal conditions. NHS patients have access to both off-the-shelf and bespoke orthotic devices through specialised orthotic departments. However, traditional orthotic solutions—such as plaster or fibreglass casts and thermoplastic orthoses—pose significant challenges, including skin irritation, poor ventilation, and excessive weight. These issues often lead to reduced patient adherence, ultimately compromising clinical outcomes. Furthermore, high demand frequently overwhelms orthotic departments, resulting in long waiting times that further hinder patient recovery.

The Solution

Additive Design has developed CAST3D, a bespoke orthotic device designed to address these challenges. CAST3D offers several advantages over traditional orthotic solutions, including a customised fit, enhanced limb support, and a lightweight, breathable, and waterproof structure made from FDA-approved, washable materials.

Client Challenge

Additive Design wanted to understand the challenges of adopting a new orthotic innovation into the NHS and the overall challenges in orthotic service delivery. They wanted to:

·       Understand the mechanisms involved in introducing a new medical technology into the NHS

·       Understand the barriers to entry into the NHS

·       Understand the cost of existing thermoplastic splints

How Medipex Helped

Medipex undertook market intelligence analysis to understand two NHS clinical pathways of interest and provide a commercial overview of the mechanisms to enter the NHS as a seller of specialist orthotic devices. M.A.R.S also completed a health budget impact analysis to understand whether CAST3D splints can be cost-saving for the NHS.

Impact

“This project has provided critical insights for our innovation. We now have a comprehensive understanding of relevant clinical pathways and their associated challenges. We also better understand procurement mechanisms and the specific departments where our solution can be best integrated. Moreover, the budget impact model has provided indicative data on the costs of current solutions within this field, identifying key cost drivers in the service.

This work strengthens our credibility and allows us to confidently justify our future pricing strategies. This report serves as a strong foundation for future projects, providing valuable insights into our target organisations and enabling us to gather primary data more effectively.”

Ali Abdi, CEO and Co-founder of CAST3D