Össur and Ottobock recently announced the establishment of a research trust fund to further the development of neuro-controlled prostheses.
The organizations have established the Össur and Ottobock Research Trust Fund at the University of Iceland with an initial combined contribution of $1 million. Grants will be awarded for scientific research and projects in the field of advanced neural-controlled prosthetics. The first grants will be awarded within a year. The fund will be governed by a four-person committee with a representative from each company and two University of Iceland representatives.
“Neural-controlled prosthetics is one of the greatest clinical challenges in our field, and its potential to impact lives is so significant that both companies embraced the opportunity to marshal resources and help accelerate this critical technological development,” Thorvaldur Ingvarsson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of Research and Development for Össur, said in the release.
From left, Thorvaldur Ingvarsson of Össur, Jon Atli Benediktsson of the University of Iceland, Hans Dietl of Ottobock, Bernhard Graimann of Ottobock and Gudmundur R. Johnsson of University of Iceland sign the agreement creating the Össur and Ottobock Research Trust Fund.
Source: Össur and Ottobock
Hans Dietl, PhD, chief technology officer for Ottobock, said, “Neural-controlled prosthetics could transform the lives of thousands of people with limb loss throughout the world, and we look forward to supporting the ongoing exploration of the field through the creation of this new fund.”
“We are grateful that our university has been chosen to play a pivotal role in furthering mind-controlled prosthetics technology,” Jon Atli Benediktsson, PhD, rector of the University of Iceland, said in the release.
The grant application process will be announced in the near future.
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