Product which enables an active lifestyle while treating bunion pain wins for innovative design.
today announced that Bunion Aid, a new day/night flexible hinged foot
splint for people with mild to moderate bunions received the 2009
Medical Design Excellence Award. Bunion Aid eases bunion pain and helps
both women and men return to an active lifestyle. Bunion Aid is easy to
apply, fits on the left or right foot and one size fits all. The Bunion
Aid splint was designed and manufactured by Alpha Orthotics’ parent
company Hallufix AG in Munich, Germany. The MDEA Award follows closely
on the heels of Bunion Aid being honored with a prestigious
international “Red Dot” Design Award (www.red-dot.de).
The
Medical Design Excellence Awards competition is organized and presented
by Canon Communications LLC (Los Angeles) and is the only awards
program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the
design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of their
design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials,
user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery and change
traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide
enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product
development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that
the product meets its clinical objectives.
“We are honored to
have been recognized for the innovative nature of the Bunion Aid
design,” said Gaby Federal, CEO of Alpha Orthotics Corporation. “Bunion
Aid is the first hinged splint of its kind that eases pain and allows
for a return to activities such as walking, running, golfing and
dancing.”
Bunion Aid is a combination of a medical-grade plastic
splint and Velcro® fastening metatarsal and toe straps. The plastic
portion of the splint is hinged and fastened along the inside border of
the foot with a toe and metatarsal strap. The straps and the splint
provide three-point correction of the bunion deformity though-out the
gait cycle. The metatarsal arch is optimally stabilized, the bunion
relieved, the mal-positioning of the toe corrected and the foot brought
back and held in its natural position. Bunion Aid can be purchased on
the Alpha Orthotics website at http://www.alphaorthotics.com, and costs
$59.95.
A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an
impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise
in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine,
and diagnostics.
The 2009 Medical Design Excellence Award winners
will be honored at a ceremony during the Medical Design &
Manufacturing (MD&M) East Conference and Exposition, June 9-11,
2009, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Gold and
silver award recipients will be announced at this time.
About Alpha Orthotics Corporation USA
Alpha Orthotics Corporation (http://www.alphaorthotics.com)
is a wholly owned subsidiary of German Hallufix Corporation. Alpha
Orthotics Corporation markets and sells patented, German-engineered
non-invasive orthotics products directly to consumers and to the medical
community.
