We are proud to announce a new and exciting chapter in our journey. We have established partnerships with Blatchford Ortopedi AS, Norway's largest provider of orthotics and prosthetics, and Sunnaas Hospital, the country's largest specialist hospital in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
This strategic collaboration marks a significant step forward in our goal to revolutionize orthopedic technology. Our vision is to make groundbreaking solutions available to those who need them most.
Additionally, we are very pleased to have received a grant of 3,975,000 NOK from Innovation Norway. This funding, along with our alliances with two internationally recognized players in our field, Blatchford and Sunnaas, represents a significant milestone and substantial recognition of our work. With the expertise of the country's leading professionals in orthopedic aids and physical medicine, we are driving the development of the world's first robotic exoskeleton for the entire arm. This is an important step towards preparing for commercialization in 2025.
Victor Hoff, CEO of Blatchford Ortopedi AS, expresses great enthusiasm for the collaboration: "For over a year, Blatchford Arendal has had the pleasure of collaborating with Vilje Bionics AS, and the experiences have been unanimously positive through knowledge sharing both ways. The development of the robotic arm will change people's lives, and dreams of being able to do more themselves will soon be realized. Now the collaboration has been formalized, and we are proud to be a strategic collaboration partner for Vilje Bionics. We look forward to the continuation."
Lene Mosberg, head of Testbed at Sunnaas Hospital HF, also emphasizes the importance of the collaboration: "Through the testbed at Sunnaas, the hospital collaborates with companies that develop future-oriented products and solutions for our patients. Vilje is a good example of this, and we hope and believe that the exoskeleton will be able to make a difference for those who currently have an arm that they, for various reasons, cannot use."
Kristin Willoch Haugen, regional director of Innovation Norway Oslo Viken, adds: "The health industry is an important focus area for Norway, and we at Innovation Norway Oslo Viken see that there is a lot of good health innovation happening in this region. Vilje Bionics is an exciting and competent health technology company that can contribute to improving the quality of life for people with reduced functional ability in arms and hands. Such solutions can also provide great socio-economic benefits if they succeed. The funding from Innovation Norway will help to alleviate the remaining risk in the development of the company's first product, ABELarm, which is expected to be launched in 2025."
With these partnerships and the support from Innovation Norway, Vilje Bionics is taking a decisive step towards realizing our vision of turning dreams into opportunities with health technology.
For a more in-depth look at our latest advancements and detailed coverage of these exciting developments, read the article on Shifter:
