Össur#Prosthetics

{{Infobox company

| name = Össur hf.

| logo = Ossur.svg

| logo_size = 250px

| type = Hlutafélag

| traded_as = {{OMX|CSE68620|OSSR}}

| foundation = 1971

| location_city = Reykjavík

| location_country = Iceland

| key_people = Sveinn Solvason
(President and CEO)
Niels Jacobsen
(Chairman)
Gudný Arna Sveinsdóttir
(CFO)

| area_served = Global

| industry = Health care

| products = Non-invasive orthopaedic bracing and support, compression therapy, prosthetics

| revenue = {{Increase}} US $719 million (2022){{cite web |url=https://annual-report.ossur.com/2022/the-big-picture#inbrief |title=Annual Report 2022 |publisher=Össur |accessdate=31 December 2022}}

| operating_income = {{Increase}} US $114 million (2022)

| net_income = {{Increase}} US $43 million (2022)

| assets = {{Increase}} US $1091 million (2019){{cite web |url=https://annual-report.ossur.com/download/files/Ossur_AnnualReport_2019.pdf |title=Annual Report 2019 |publisher=Össur |accessdate=31 December 2019}}

| equity = {{Increase}} US $569 million (2019)

| num_employees = 4000 (average, 2020){{cite web|url=http://www.ossur.com/corporate/about-ossur|title=About Ossur|publisher=Ossur|accessdate=November 1, 2013}}

| homepage = [http://www.ossur.com www.ossur.com]

}}

Össur hf.{{efn|hf. stands for hlutafélag ({{lit|joint-stock company}} or more precisely 'limited liability company').}} ({{IPA|is|ˈœsːʏr}}) is a company based in Iceland that develops, manufactures and sells non-invasive equipment for orthopaedics, including bracing and support products, compression therapy, and prosthetics. The company is headquartered in Reykjavík, with offices in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and distributors in other markets.

History

Össur was founded in Iceland in 1971 by Össur Kristinsson, a prosthetist. His family owned the company until 1999, when it went public and was listed on the Iceland Stock Exchange. Initially, the company served only the domestic Icelandic market, and then began to export in 1986 and expanded rapidly through a series of strategic acquisitions. Össur has been listed on the NASDAQ Copenhagen Stock Exchange since 2009 and celebrated 20 years as a publicly traded company in 2019,{{Cite web|title=Össur Celebrates 20 Years as a Publicly Traded Company|url=https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/ossur-celebrates-20-years-as-a-publicly-traded-company-2019-12-17|access-date=2020-09-23|website=www.nasdaq.com|language=en}} by ringing the closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York's Times Square. As of 2019 it employs more than 3,500 people in over 25 locations.2019 [https://annual-report.ossur.com/download/files/Ossur_AnnualReport_2019.pdf Annual Report.]

In 2006, the company was named as a "technology pioneer" by the World Economic Forum.{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/sessions/summary/new-edge-technology|title=The New Edge of Technology|publisher=World Economic Forum}}

=Acquisitions=

Since 2000, Össur has acquired over 20 companies:

2000 – Skóstofan {{cite web|url=http://mbl.is/mm/gagnasafn/grein.html?grein_id=556298|title=Össur hf. kaupir Skóstofuna|publisher=}}
2000 – Flex-Foot, Inc.
2000 – PI Medical AB.[http://www.allbusiness.com/health-care/medical-devices-equipment-prosthetic/6577190-1.html Flex-Foot Parent Buys Two Swedish ProstheticFirms.]{{Dead url|date=April 2024}}
2000 – Karlsson & Bergstrom AB.
2000 – Century XXII Innovations, Inc
2003 – Linea Orthopedics AB.
2003 – Generation II Group, Inc.[http://www.oandp.com/articles/news_2003-11-13_01.asp Ossur Reorganizes in US]. {{Archive url|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927010902/http://www.oandp.com/articles/news_2003-11-13_01.asp|date=2011-09-27}}
2005 – Advanced Prosthetic Components
2005 – Royce Medical, Inc.
2005 – Innovative Medical Products, Ltd.
2005 – GBM Medical AB.
2006 – Innovation Sports, Inc.
2006 – Gibaud Group{{cite web|url=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/o-oha122206.php|title=Össur hf. acquires the Gibaud Group in France|date=22 December 2006|publisher=}}
2007 – SOMAS
2010 – Orthopaedic Partner Africa {{cite web|url=http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13032&NewsID=3224|title=Össur expands global network with new base in South Africa|publisher=}}
2012 – Evolution Industries
2013 – TeamOlmed {{Cite web|title=Össur Signs Agreement to Acquire TeamOlmed in Sweden - OPEDGE.COM|url=https://opedge.com/Articles/ViewArticle/NEWS_2013-05-21_01|access-date=2020-09-23|website=opedge.com}}
2016 – Touch Bionics {{Cite web|title=Össur acquires Touch Bionics|url=http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ssur-acquires-touch-bionics-081602051.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=finance.yahoo.com|date=11 April 2016 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Össur Acquires Touch Bionics - OPEDGE.COM|url=https://opedge.com/Articles/ViewArticle/NEWS_2016-04-11_01|access-date=2020-09-23|website=opedge.com}}
2017 – Medi Prosthetics
2019 – College Park Industries {{Cite web|title=Össur Acquires College Park - OPEDGE.COM|url=https://opedge.com/Articles/ViewArticle/2019-07-19/ossur-acquires-college-park|access-date=2020-09-23|website=opedge.com}}
2023 - Naked Prosthetics
2024 - FIOR & GENTZ{{Cite web |title=Össur hf: Össur acquires FIOR & GENTZ |url=https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id=bf02fffe8f205c68bb226b23d231cf297&lang=en&src=listed |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=view.news.eu.nasdaq.com}}

Operations

=Research and development=

Össur operates five research and development (R&D) departments in four countries, employing 76 people. In-house R&D also partners with third parties, including universities and research companies{{which|date=November 2014}}. In 2007, R&D investment amounted to 6 percent of the company's total sales{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}. The same year, 22 US patents were granted to Össur and 37 new applications filed{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}. At the end of the year, Össur had 218 US, 26 European, and 103 granted international patents in its portfolio, together with 119 US and 239 pending applications world.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}}

=Products=

The company operates in three markets: bracing & support, compression therapy, and prosthetics including bionics technology. It manufactures a range of braces and support products for arms, legs, and torso. Products include Unloader One, a brace that provides mechanical support to reduce the knee pain caused by osteoarthritis. It's designed to separate bones when ligaments and cartilage are damaged, and to prevent further damage to the joint. The firm also makes the CTi (formerly sold as the CTi2), a ligament brace for knees used for both rehabilitation and for injury prevention, as well as cervical collars.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

Össur entered the compression therapy segment with the acquisition of the French company Gibaud. Products include bandages, tights, stockings, knee highs and stump socks.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

==Prosthetics==

Össur manufactures prosthetic limbs and joints, liners, sockets, locks and sleeves. Its products include Flex-Foot, a prosthetic foot made from carbon fiber, a material used in the aerospace industry for its strength and flexibility. The Flex-Foot Cheetah developed by medical engineer Van Phillips and worn by Alan Oliveira, Markus Rehm, and other amputee athletes is a derivative of this product line.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}} Össur also produces the Total Knee prosthetic, which possesses a "locking moment" which keeps the knee from collapsing when it is in full extension, Mauch Knee, which has a hydraulic system for fluid and natural gait, and Iceross silicone prosthetic liners, which provide an interface between the skin and the socket.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

The company's bionic technology platform is designed to restore anatomical function displaced by amputation by using intelligent structures in products that can respond in a human-like way. The division's products are Rheo Knee, a microprocessor swing and stance knee system which utilizes artificial intelligence, Power Knee, which works as an integrated extension of its user, synchronizing motion with that of the sound leg using motor power, and Proprio Foot, an intelligent and motor-powered foot module.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}

Össur has been developing a bionic limb controlled using implanted myoelectric sensors developed by the Alfred Mann Foundation.{{cite news|title=Amputees control bionic legs with their thoughts|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iceland-mind-controlled-limb-idUSKBN0O51EQ20150520|publisher=Reuters|date=20 May 2015}} One patient has used the limb for over a year, and reports a positive experience. Össur says that the implantable control sensors will be a technology upgrade for its prosthetics in three to five years. In 2019, Össur and Alfred Mann Foundation signed new agreement to extend exploration of mind-controlled prosthetics.{{Cite web|title=Össur and Alfred Mann Foundation Sign New Agreement to Extend Exploration of Mind-Controlled Prosthetics|url=https://news.cision.com/ossur-hf-/r/ossur-and-alfred-mann-foundation-sign-new-agreement-to-extend-exploration-of-mind-controlled-prosthe,c2949680|access-date=2020-09-23|website=News Powered by Cision|date=4 November 2019 |language=en}}

Team Össur

{{multiple issues|{{unreferenced section|date=November 2014}}{{Expand section|date=August 2024}}}}

Team Össur is a group of international para-athletes sponsored by Össur. Sponsees include Sarah Reinertsen, Markus Rehm, Jody Cundy and Rudy Garcia-Tolson.