Andiamo

By , 26 August 2016 at 17:30
Andiamo
Future

Andiamo

By , 26 August 2016 at 17:30

Andiamo is a technology company that aims to ease suffering of other and was born out of the short painful life experiences of Diamo Parvez

When new baby Diamo Parvez was diagnosed with cerebral palsy in 2003 it was the start of a life that could have used better support on several fronts. His mother Samiya claims medical negligence contributed to a condition dogged by extreme developmental delay. A quadriplegic, with little control over his head movements, little Diamo would need extensive support in basic functions like eating, sitting and observing his surroundings.

From birth, Diamo’s parents Samiyah and Nameed Parvez had to become experts on Orthotics, the science of supporting the body by modifying the structural and functional characteristics of the neuromuscular and skeletal system. The lives of the Parvez family were to be organised around Diamo’s many clinical appointments.

They were to discover that the science of applying of braces and splints, to help with posture and functioning, had much room for improvement. Diamo’s daily routine was challenging for everyone, since he needed splints applied everywhere from his feet to his hands, through back braces and a ‘second skin’ garment.

In Orthotics each device has to be custom made for the patient, but the process of making them can take 12 weeks. Diamo often outgrew them before they arrived. To make matters worse his condition meant he was extremely sensitive to temperature and touch, so being manipulated for constant orthotics measurement was excruciating. Since his support devices weren’t the right fit, their failure to function properly meant Diamo couldn’t sit up straight and was constantly slipping off his seat and his wheelchair. As a result, he wasn’t eating enough. The wasted development of braces was financially punishing for his already stressed parents too.

Sadly, in 2009, Diamo died as a result of his condition. In memory of his experiences Samiya Parvez decided that no other person should suffer the same agonies. She aimed to do this by shortening the production time for orthosis supports. Parvez’s legacy is Andiamo, an application that uses 3D scanning and printing technologies to refine the design and manufacture processes. With funding from the Nominet Trust, it is creating a cloud-based collaborative platform, Cognitive Clinical Decisions, built on the IBM super computer computer Watson.

The Andiamo site will also feature the latest biomechanical research so clinicians can update designs based on the most up-to-date advice, enabling better orthotic treatment for children with disabilities and long term conditions.

The legacy of Diamo could be a system that improves family lives through a simple but essential improvement to their wellbeing – a fitting orthosis that supports patients when they need it. Andiamo aims to deliver a medically effective orthosis within a week.

The development team includes 3D printing experts from Digits2Widgets and several universities and is collaborating in an ongoing research project at Kingston University in the UK.

Andiamo’s current problem is funding, since venture capitalists think the project may be too radical. Traditional investors may see it as an attempt to disrupt an industry that hasn’t changed in over a hundred years. “Traditional investors don’t like risky ventures,” says Nameed Parvez.

Every year 100 million people across the world need orthotics devices and numbers are expected to rise by as conditions like obesity and diabetes become increasingly common.

“It’s a massive market that’s served by a very tiny number of people,” says Parvez.

Andiamo’s strategy is to build a coalition of users, parents, clinicians and other experts that believe that the delivery of health services should be changed so that the power is in the hands of the people who use them.

These are the early days and it will be an expensive project that needs substantial inputs of financial and intellectual capital. With the right funding it could change the quality of life for millions of people for the better.

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