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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) – Dave Johnson is the founder of Icarus Medical, a new biomedical manufacturer located in downtown Charlottesville that manufactures light weight knee and joint braces using 3D printing technology.
Johnson got the idea for his company when he suffered an injury to his knee while he was in his 20s and was unsatisfied with the limited mobility offered by available knee braces at the time.
With his engineering background from the University of Virginia, he spent five years working and developing a brace that uses adjustable tension with elastic bands to counter the pressure that is usually placed on the knees when they bend. He says they can make custom braces quickly making a 3D scan of the knee with an iPhone before designing the brace and then 3D printing it at their location.
His first product that he will introduce in the beginning of October will be called the Icarus Ascender Knee Brace, it is less than half the weight of current knee braces being offered and is targeted at people with osteoarthritis in the knee.
He says relieving knee and joint pain is key to maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.“We are tying to help more people be more active as they age and get more life out of their natural knee and delay that knee replacement surgery.”
Icarus Medical is located on the downtown mall and Johnson encourages people who have any questions to walk on in or check out their website at https://www.icarusmedical.com.
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