Supporting young people with a disability to live independently

28 February 2023

Medipex are proud to be actively supporting a project led by the charity Duchenne UK that was featured in the national news today, aiming to help children living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Duchenne UK were successful in an application for a £1m grant from the People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund to develop a smart suit that can provide upper limb assistance to children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy or Spinal Muscular Atrophy, which started in July 2022.  Today’s news has featured the project as we reached the stage of children with Duchenne trying on an early prototype and providing critical feedback as to how we can design something much better that they would be happy and comfortable to wear to support their everyday living.  Watch a video where children with Duchenne try out the prototype.

Founder of Duchenne UK, and the parent of a child with the condition, Emily Reuben says “When he loses the use of his arms, and his upper body strength, there is nothing for him and really that’s the most devastating part of the disease – not being able to feed yourself, not being able to brush your teeth, to give your mum a hug, put your hands up in class – they’re the small things in life but really they are the big things.”  

 

The team at Duchenne UK selected various expert partners to support them to develop and commercialise a suitable Smart Suit to provide active upper limb support to these children, helping them to live more independent lives.  Medipex are leading on the intellectual property strategy for the project, working with the design team at PA Consulting Ltd, and past collaborators, to help ensure that there is freedom to operate. The expert Medipex team is also working closely with colleagues at NIHR Devices for Dignity and the NIHR Children and Young People Medtech Co-operative to define market opportunities and to map out the ideal route to market for the suit and explore mechanisms to make it available to as many children with the condition as possible.  Partners at the University of Liverpool are also working closely with the design team to ensure that the user needs, particularly children living with the condition and their carers, are at the heart of the suit design.

This is an incredibly exciting and meaningful project, and we cannot wait to see the designs that the team produce following this user engagement piece.  Our involvement providing market intelligence, IP strategy support and commercialisation advice will help to turn a great idea into something that can deliver real patient benefit.

Get in Touch to find out how Medipex can support your project.