COVVI

We have the honour of sharing the story of Ali Osman, a 26-year-old electrical electronics engineer from Turkey, who was recently fitted with his very own COVVI Hand.

He lost his right arm in 2022, but never lost hope and strived to continue living his life to the fullest. Because of his interest in engineering and closely following the latest cutting-edge technology, Ali was able to find COVVI and see what's possible with our prosthetic hands. Our Middle-East Technical Manager, Murat Günay, worked together with Ali to build a full solution that can assist him with his day-to-day life and provide that additional range of movement to support his active lifestyle. COVVI is excited to be rapidly expanding across regions like Turkey and bringing our technology to people from all around the world who have limb differences.

We believe that being fitted with a COVVI Hand is only the beginning of a prosthetic journey, and we're pleased to hear that Ali is just as excited as we are for the potential that this new device can bring. 🦾

"From the first day I used it, I was able to adapt my prosthetic very well to my daily life. In fact, being able to do my hobbies again, like playing games on the computer, on top of that, has given my confidence an extra boost.

I still closely follow technological developments, but from now on, the COVVI Hand will always be number one!"

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Last week, a small group of the COVVI team headed to Leipzig, Germany to attend OTWorld 2024, the largest and leading international industry meeting place for manufacturers, distributors, and service providers in the field of modern medical aids and equipment. The trade show welcomes 20,000 visitors from more than 90 countries and allows those who operate at the interface between people and technology to connect and collaborate.

COVVI Advocate, Stephen Lowry, also joined the team so he could showcase his hand and newly fabricated socket live for the attendees. Stephen was also busy challenging (and often winning) people to games of Jenga at the stand, which is a testament to the dexterity and preciseness of the COVVI Hand!

This year, the team were eager to share the latest and greatest innovations that we’ve been working on, such as the cosmetic skin tone glove, COVVI Touch (our new Haptic Feedback solution) and the prototype of our new woven underglove, which helps to improve the durability and lifespan of our integrated silicone glove. We were also excited to share the news of our recent success in achieving ISO 13485 and 9001 certifications, which will help us to develop and accelerate our ongoing strategy for global growth. These exciting developments have been in the pipeline for some time, so being able to exhibit them was a very rewarding moment for the team.

The show was a roaring success this year, with a lot of buzz and incredibly positive feedback surrounding the latest developments at COVVI. Attending trade shows and getting the opportunity to speak to so many individuals within the industry continues to drive us toward our goal of helping as many people as possible. We’re looking forward to appearing at even more shows in the future with the chance to spread the word of COVVI and as many change lives together forever. 🦾

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COVVI's Rose Gold Hand Covers Make Their Glamorous Return

As we continue to push the boundaries of style and innovation, the award-winning manufacturers of the world-leading COVVI Hand have reintroduced the much-loved Rose Gold covers to our range of colour options for users. The return of this elegant option not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the hand, but also underscores our commitment to creating a highly functional device that users are proud to wear.

Re-joining our lineup of Carbon Black, Titan Grey and White covers, this Rose Gold option is available for our Small and Medium hand sizes, and boasts the same cutting-edge design and form factor that allows it to protect the back of the device. Like all our hand covers, the Rose Gold option is meticulously crafted with a keen eye for detail, ensuring seamless integration with COVVI's state-of-the-art prosthetic hands. Made from high-quality materials, these covers are not merely an accessory but a statement - a symbol of resilience, strength, and the beauty of diversity.

The COVVI Hand has already transformed the lives of many people with limb differences from every corner of the globe. Now, with the option to add a touch of Rose Gold elegance, users can further embrace their prosthetic as a unique and personal extension of themselves. 🦾

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On Sunday 11th February, COVVI Advocate Jessica Smith attended the exclusive TIME100 Impact Awards, hosted at the iconic Museum of the Future in Dubai. Returning to Dubai for the third year, the 2024 event had a new focus on the use of AI within different industries and helped to spotlight the individuals working at the forefront of this technology. As an advocate, Jessica continues to showcase the power of the COVVI Hand around the world, and the impact it can have on those with limb differences.

When speaking about the event, Jessica said "it was an honour to be a guest at the recent TIME100 Impact Awards. I’ve had the privilege of attending these awards for the past three years, with this year being the first time the awards were dedicated to AI".

When the Museum of the Future was first constructed, three quotes were etched into the building from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, which encompass the ethos of events like this one, as well as the companies that push the forefront of technology, engineering and manufacturing.

"We won't live for hundreds of years, but the products of our creativity can leave a legacy long after we are gone."
"The future will be for those who will be able to imagine, design and build it, the future does not wait, the future can be designed and built today."
"The secret of the renewal of life, the development of civilization and the progress of humanity is in one word: innovation."

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Unlock Endless Possibilities with COVVI's User Defined Grips! 🦾

The team at COVVI understands the importance of empowering users and providing a device that grows and evolves. We have found that as our users form a deeper understanding of what is possible, they come to see their COVVI Hand as a companion, rather than a simple tool.

For those who wish to take on more complex tasks, COVVI Hand users can download additional grip patterns and gestures from our cloud-based ‘Grip Library’ - in addition to the 14 grip patterns available as standard. Where we previously had the Two Fingers, Hook, Stick It, Tripod Open/Close, Thumbs Up and Wave grip patterns available, we have now added the following User Defined Grips to the COVVI Go App for all to access:

Grasp (Two Variants) - Useful for specific tasks like holding cutlery for eating, holding a pen for writing and applying make-up
Cylinder - Perfect for grasping everyday objects, such as tins, cans and TV remotes, as well as cooking utensils, pots and pans
Book (Two Variants) - Ideal for when you wish to hold a book for reading, taking notes or positioning a mobile phone/tablet for interaction

Users can navigate to the 'Grip Tables' section of the COVVI Go App and select the ‘User Defined Grips’ options on the ‘Add Grip Tables’ screen. This will generate a list of all the available User Defined Grips in our ‘Grip Library’, which includes the newly released five additional grip patterns. You can store up to six User Defined Grips at once and even preview a demo video of these before adding them to your specific device.

User footage courtesy of: Stephen Lowry, Prosthetic Innovations, Proten Ortopedi ve Sağlık Hizmet and Prosthetic Serol

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We had an exciting time at GITEX Global 2023 last week!

The COVVI team was invited by global technology group ‘Etisalat by e&’ (Etisalatand) to feature at their pavilion in the Dubai World Trade Centre, and we had an incredible time exploring the cutting-edge tech on display at the event. Esteemed advocates Jessica Smith and Stephen Lowry joined us at this amazing event to help us showcase the COVVI Hand - a revolutionary piece of technology that's shaping the future of accessibility and innovation in the world of prosthetics.

With so many brilliant minds and innovative companies at the event, there was no better place to demonstrate the power of the COVVI Hand and how it can be used in conjunction with other tech marvels to create exciting collaborations across every industry. The future is looking brighter than ever, and we can't wait to share it with all of you! 🦾

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Last week, COVVI advocate Sarah July de Lagarde attended the 'Who Cares Wins' awards, hosted by The Sun, so she could present the 999 Hero gong to the team that saved her life. The awards ceremony works in partnership with NHS Charities Together and is sponsored by the National Lottery. They celebrate and champion health professionals, volunteers and charity workers who go above and beyond to help their patients.

Sarah nominated the medics who saved her life for this award and helped to present it with TV personality James Corden. Hearing about the team’s heroic efforts to save her life, James struggled to contain his emotions. He said ”we should be so proud of the NHS. We all hope that somebody will be there for us in an emergency, be there to hold our hand to reassure us, to be a friend to tell us that everything will be alright.”

Paramedics Kevin Cuddon, Chris Doyle and Dr. Benjamin Marriage were among the crew that provided lifesaving care to Sarah. When Sarah fell between the platform and the train, she was semi-responsive. Kevin had to crawl under the train to help the London Fire Brigade get her out and the heroes had to carry her about 30 metres under the train before putting her on a device to lift her up to the platform. Throughout the night Sarah, professed her admiration and gratitude to the medical professionals, “The fact that I am here and alive and able to watch my children grow up is amazing. I owe these three incredible men my life.”

We’re always humbled by those who work for the NHS and honoured to assist with the gold-standard service they continue to provide the public on a daily basis. We’re grateful that COVVI was able to play a part in such an inspirational story and feel proud that we can assist the person that these brave paramedics fought to save. ❤️🦾

Cover Photo Credit: Dan Charity

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COVVI Advocate, Sarah July de Lagarde, has finally been fitted with her very own COVVI Hand after receiving life-changing injuries last year. Sarah was run over by two London Underground trains at High Barnet Station in September 2022, with her arm and leg needing to be amputated.

Nine months on and after several rounds of testing and socket building, Sarah was fitted at the Dorset Orthopaedic clinic in Amersham. The BBC was invited to cover this story and help spread awareness of the power that advanced prosthetics have to change the lives of users across the world.

Sarah is keen to get going with her new bionic arm and learn the ways it can be used throughout her daily life to give her the freedom to once again do the tasks that are usually so innate to us. This is what she has to say so far on her time with the COVVI Hand:

"As I was rushed into surgery, I was given a consent form to have my leg and arm amputated since they were no longer 'viable'. I told them to do whatever it takes to stay alive, but... when you cut my arm off, please attach a cool-looking robot arm. I want a badass arm!

The surgeon shook his head and said ‘that’s not how this works. It will take 2-3 years before you’ll be able to use a prosthetic like that’, but I was determined to push ahead with my rehabilitation and get fitted as soon as possible. Now we're nine months on and on my first day with this bionic hand, I’m already putting it to good use. The feeling of freedom is unbeatable, from being able to carry things in two hands again, to opening a bottle, to being able to give my husband a two-armed hug!"

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A popular Spanish TV show, El Hormiguero, invited COVVI to showcase our hand in front of a live studio audience. The programme, established in 2006, focuses mainly on comedy and science, and over the years, has received a large number of appearances from international celebrities. Global Distribution Manager Emily Wilson and COVVI Advocate Jessica Smith were extremely excited to make the trip to Spain so they could demonstrate all the incredible features that the hand has to offer. Actors Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman were also guests on the show to promote their upcoming film and were visibly impressed with Jessica’s demonstration of the hand and the possibility of what can be accomplished through the technology at COVVI.

It was an amazing opportunity for COVVI to be featured alongside such talented Hollywood stars. We are grateful to be given these platforms so we can continue to spread the word about the technology and how we are changing multiple lives for the better, forever. 🦾

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On Monday 29th May, several members of the COVVI team arrived at ICRA 2023 in London to officially launch COVVI Robotics and debut our new robotics hand. This new venture started life in late 2021 and has been developed in tandem with our prosthetic hand for the past 18 months. The event was a fantastic success, and we were able to speak with hundreds of attendees from across the entire engineering industry about the positive impact our device could have in different sectors. This provided the team with invaluable feedback and suggestions of new features that could be incorporated into the new hand, which they've already been working to implement.

Our visionary engineers derived this new version of the COVVI Hand to be tailored for this new market, with the goal of being integrated into operations like nuclear decommissioning, which helps eliminate the need for operators to physically put their hands into gloveboxes to treat nuclear waste. This innovative technology will reduce the risks of on-site accidents and therefore also help to prevent nuclear plants from closing when accident investigations need to take place.

The COVVI Robotics Hand is being created in partnership with Atkins and their parent company SNS Lavalin Group, which has enabled us to accelerate the development process and tailor the hand to more sectors across the robotics market. Simon Pollard, Group CEO at COVVI said “The robotics market continues to develop at pace as it becomes more affordable, scalable, and customisable. We are excited about the opportunity to implement new and innovative solutions that will help support repetitive tasks in hazardous environments within the nuclear industry.”

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