(prosthetic device whirring)
(woman gasps)
- This is Abby, and she's putting on her new prosthetic arm
for the first time.
But this isn't a normal prosthetic.
This is the most advanced 3D printed prosthetic ever made.
- Typical prosthetic devices can cost anywhere
from 20 to about $80,000.
That's a big problem for growing children.
You know, children outgrow a prosthetic device
every 12 to 14 months.
- The global prosthetics and orthotics industry
is valued at $6 billion,
and controlled by a handful of players
that have no incentive to lower their prices,
or change their operating models.
- There's been no real structural change in the market
for the last 50 years.
There's been some technology improvements,
but not a systematic change,
which I think is really what's needed
to be able to make a significant impact.
40 million amputees worldwide, only 5% of them
have access to prosthetic care and technology.
And so we got to do better as an industry,
and at Unlimited Tomorrow, we hope to be that force.
(prosthetic device whirring)
(solemn music)
- This is Easton LaChappelle, the CEO of Unlimited Tomorrow.
- I used science fairs as an excuse
to make something cool every year.
I was a kid who loved to tinker and take things apart.
I always had a curiosity for how things work
and why things work.
And when I was 14, I came up with an idea
to make a robotic hand controlled using a control glove.
I always wanted to go into robotics, but for me,
it was always kind of this far-fetched career,
like making robots.
- Then one day, Easton met a seven year old girl
at a science fair whose story would change his life.
She had an $80,000 prosthetic arm
made with technology less sophisticated than what Easton,
a 14 year old, was developing in his bedroom.
- This little girl would soon outgrow this.
It was heavy, bulky, it really didn't look human like.
It was extremely expensive,
and I just expected better from the world of technology.
There's just gotta be something better.
And the more I looked into this, there really wasn't.
- Easton decided to try to fix this problem,
and quickly caught the attention of some celebrities
interested in making an impact.
- I was just about to graduate high school
and I got a call from Tony Robbins,
and, you know, a couple months later
we formed the company Unlimited Tomorrow.
You know, I wasn't 18 at the time.
So I had to wait until I could legally own a company
for the deal to go through.
Starting a business at 18 was the huge challenge.
It wasn't easy to jump straight into the startup environment
and to run a business.
I didn't feel like I knew what to do.
I didn't feel like I had the skill sets.
It took so much trial and error,
and learning from so many different mediums,
lots of different books, presentations,
and videos, and courses.
It was a lot of challenge.
When you find yourself in this situation,
it's extremely motivating, but it is hard.
We can do OTA ourselves,
it's just like writing custom (indistinct) instead.
- Easton overcame those initial hurdles,
and put together a team focused on figuring out
how to bring down the cost of manufacturing
an advanced prosthetic.
- Typical prosthetic devices can cost anywhere
from 20 to about $80,000.
They vary widely.
There is so many different layers of problems.
There's a lot of middlemen.
There's a lot of insurance billing.
It's staggered.
A lot of times people have to travel across the states
to see a specialist.
That's where you end up with an $80,000 device,
when it doesn't really need to cost that.
- To bring down the cost, Unlimited Tomorrow
has brought the entire process in house.
They send customers a 3D scanner
to scan their residual limb at home.
Then they use those scans to create a set of check sockets,
which are shipped to the customer for a video evaluation
with Unlimited Tomorrow's clinical team
to assess comfort and fit.
This is repeated until the fit is perfect.
Then the team 3D prints, assembles,
and tests the device before it's shipped and ready to train.
- They can bring clinicians and expertise in house,
and so having kind of this distributive model,
have remote care, and we could essentially democratize
a lot of the system.
We could work with more and more people,
and eventually get it to a global level
through this type of a distribution
and remote fitting process.
You know, historically, you could get
to this kind of robotic advanced hand
that had a good finger movement,
or you could get this passive device
that looked very human-like, but didn't move.
TrueLimb is the world's
most affordable prosthetic device on the market.
It unlocks a new level of personalization
never thought before.
We match skin tone exactly.
Each device is made unique to the person
down to the size, shape, and feel.
We pack it with so many incredible features,
such as sense of touch, easy to use movement,
and it's also extremely lightweight and durable.
And we believe that this is setting a foundation
for global change within this industry.
Up-to-date, we produced hundreds of TrueLimbs.
TrueLimb is literally a fraction of the cost
of traditional prosthetic devices.
It's $7,995 for everybody.
And for children who outgrow a device,
it's about $4,000, half that.
- Unlimited Tomorrow's program for children
who outgrow their TrueLimb
ensures children can grow with their device,
by sending their TrueLimb back for a new shell
and socket fitting process.
This keeps prices low for their parents.
- I wish you could feel it.
It's so different.
(prosthetic device whirring)
I have never experienced the sensation
of having fingers that move like that
on this side of my body.
I wonder if I can just...
I just got this open.
I've never done that in my life, what I just did.
I've never done that.
I can't even describe to you that sensation.
Like, I first put it on and it was like, that felt cool.
But when that thing moves, and gripped,
and held that stuff, that was special.
- Every time a TrueLimb leaves our door,
I feel incredibly humbled and proud of our product
and what we've created.
We see these videos and pictures
and these incredible emails that we get from people
who are using these devices
that might be able to hold a family member's hand
and walk their dog for the first time.
You know, little moments like that always stand out to me.
We were working with a young girl in Colorado at one point,
and you know, she was able to roll down
her long sleeve shirts on both sides for the first time,
and that really hit me.
I never thought about that before,
and I think it's those small moments
that continue to, you know, just really ignite
what I'm doing here.
(gentle solemn music)
- We did it.