Advancements in technology are revolutionizing patient care — and that’s all thanks to the commitment, creativity, and skills of a wide variety of people, including engineers, artists, and medical professionals who dedicate their lives to using their skills to make the world a better place.
Meet Diana Hall, a chemical engineer and founder of ActivArmor, an innovative business that offers the only hygienic, sanitizable cast on the market. Utilizing the latest in 3D scanning and printing technologies with AI-driven software, ActivArmor enables patients to wave goodbye to restrictive, bulky casts and enjoy an active lifestyle while on their healing journeys.
Allow me to introduce Founder, Diana Hall…
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ActivArmor offers the only hygienic, sanitizable cast on the market. We are now launching a point-of-care digital fabrication system that utilizes the latest 3D scanning and printing technologies with an AI-driven design software to provide patient-specific, custom-fitted casts and splints in waterproof, sanitizable plastics that allow people to live their active lifestyles while healing.
I’m a chemical engineer that worked in engineering and software for Fortune 500 companies until I took some time off when my daughter was born and started running a mentoring program for children in poverty.
The kids had domestic violence and substandard living conditions, and often had to wear casts. The fiberglass casts would get wet and filthy — one little girl had bed bugs under hers, and one little boy couldn’t keep his dry in the shower and wore it wet for 3 weeks, causing permanent scarring on his arm.
The kids couldn’t even practice basic hygiene, like washing their hands for a snack. I 3D-printed plastic casts for them out of Legos plastic and told them to ask their doctors if they could use this instead. The doctors were excited and asked for more, and it became our mission at ActivArmor to provide a sanitizable alternative to traditional casting methods.
It’s obvious that hygienic materials and breathable, custom-fit designs allow for improved healing and treatment options, as well as lifestyle freedom for the patients, but there were many reasons why this technology and product were not available to American consumers.
There was the issue of time — design and fabrication of custom splints by hand takes both time and labor. There was the issue of design — finding the ideal balance of thickness and coverage area (for protection of a broken limb) and lightweight breath-ability (for comfort and freedom for the patient).
There was also the issue of materials — making 3D-printed products durable enough to be used in sports while still low-profile enough to allow for maximized mobility and freedom of movement.
Then there was the issue of regulatory oversight — ensuring the 3D-printed materials and finished product were biocompatible and non-porous (meaning it would not trap moisture or bacteria against the skin).
Additionally, there was the issue of fit — using the right equipment with the right process and quality controls to ensure a precise fit to the limb for accurate immobilization of parts as small as fingers for comfort and ideal healing outcomes.
There was also the issue of compliance — how to make them non-removable like a cast, but also removable like a splint, applicable for both acute injuries and chronic conditions.
There was the issue of clinic adaptability — exchanging a technique and process used for decades in orthopedic practice for a digital scan.
Finally, there was the issue of cost — making the latest technology in precision scanning hardware and software affordable, including the labor of CAD design unique to each patient, fabrication, and hand-finishing of each device in an FDA-registered manufacturing facility, and making that all available in the same price range as traditional splints, and covered by insurance.
These challenges were addressed one by one, with input from top orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine doctors, regulatory compliance experts, athletes, and patients over three years of field tests and hundreds commercial sales. It has evolved from centralized production to point-of-care fabrication at a fraction of the cost and time.
We started with prototyping, addressing regulatory barriers, and field testing in clinics. We checked on the provider experience, workflow, and patient healing outcomes and feedback. We iterated on the design and process, and then started removing the barriers to entry of cost and turnaround time with automation and technology improvements.
Through all of this, we marketed to providers in tradeshows and publications, and through 1099 orthopedic sales reps.
We seek out and strategically target our beachhead market of innovators in orthopedics and sports medicine with messaging directly to the problems we address (patient compliance, complications, issues) and how we solve them.
And we send that messaging to them on the platforms they will see — LinkedIn, tradeshows, and through their rep/distributor relationships. Then we provide the best customer service possible, holding their hands through the entire digital transformation process.
My team of advisors has been the biggest help — the designs and process by the top orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine professionals, and then those industry experts with medical device development and sales experience.
Some of the best books are Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore, Zero to One by Peter Thiel, Building Your Story Brand by Donald Miller, The Innovator’s Dilemma, The Lean Startup, Start with Why, Do the Right Thing, Tribes, Playing to Win, Measure What Matters, Made to Stick, Pitch Anything, The Closer’s Survival Guide, Getting to Yes, Exactly What to Say, Sell or Be Sold, Leaders Eat Last…I could go on and on!
I have apps like Retell on my phone that summarize the books I want and read the cliff notes to me while I’m driving to tradeshows, demos, and sales meetings.
Things are going well now, COVID hit us hard, like everyone else in the industry, so we lost some momentum, and now the economy is making fundraising more difficult but also forcing us to innovate, bootstrap, and evolve our business model.
This year we’re outsourcing all of our manufacturing and launching the point-of-care solution, so we’re changing from a manufacturer to a SaaS provider. Next year will be all about sales/scaling. Then we’ll be focused on either Series A or being acquired.
I would say to fearlessly go all in on whatever you’re the subject matter expert in. Others will drop out when resources get tight, but if you have the most grit to persevere through all of the “no’s” and blockers and obstacles, you’ll end up winning.
Go in planning that it will take much longer and more money than you expect, and roll with the punches. Schedule time to pause on the day-to-day grind and think strategically so you can anticipate curves and trends and pivot quickly.
Don’t be afraid to make staffing changes aggressively and quickly (my personal shortcoming). Only regret things you DIDN’T try, never mistakes you made, because you learned from them.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianaelizabethhall/
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