I-Corps: Customer Discovery for a Novel Performance-Enhancing Foot Orthoses

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to address the urgent need of highly durable and more comfortable foot orthoses to benefit military service members and veterans, athletes, as well as other professionals suffering from foot or ankle injuries. The team has developed a nitinol-based foot orthoses. Compared to the current foot orthoses that are made of nonmetallic materials, the nitinol-based foot orthoses can provide enhanced functional capabilities including optimized energy dissipation capacity, improved comfort, long functional life, and lightweight. The life expectancy of the nitinol orthoses is twice as long as that of the plastic orthoses. The foot orthotic insoles market is currently estimated to be worth $2.6B and will grow to $3.7B by 2021. Thus, commercialization and application of the proposed foot orthoses will greatly impact the footwear industry. This project is the beginning of a new science and technology based company that will enhance the technology infrastructure and upon completion provide jobs for the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce of the state of Mississippi.This I-Corps project will explore the market potential of the novel foot orthoses previously developed by the team. The foot orthoses are made of nitinol using additive manufacturing methods. Their cellular structure generated during the additive manufacturing process can absorb more shock energy from every step a customer takes, therefore offering adjustable cushioning and comfort to the customer. Due to the shape-memory property and superelasticity of nitinol, the designed foot orthoses are easier to deflect under human body-support interaction forces, and can withstand corrosive environments and fatigue loading conditions. This I-Corps project aims to evaluate the market opportunities of the developed foot orthoses to gain a clear identification of market of the technology, as well as a deeper insight into the needs of potential customers. Discoveries from this project will inform the decision of the next step towards a startup and commercialization.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.