A Sheffield-based business, Fyous, has secured £1.4 million funding boost to launch its medical footwear innovation into the market.
Fyous were established in 2020 with a focus on crafting custom footwear for runners using their unique technology – polymorphic moulding.
This was until co-founders Joshua Shires and Thomas Bloomfield uncovered significant challenges in orthotic footwear for patients with diabetes.
Over half of the UK’s diabetic population faces neuropathy – a condition causing a loss of foot sensation, leading to potential foot damage, ulcers and amputations in around 10,000 cases annually.
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The company have secured an Innovate UK match-funded grant as part of its investment drive to bring their medical footwear to market.
To access Innovate UK’s £700,000 investment, Fyous needed an initial £700,000 in private investment, culminating in a total of £1.4 million.
This grant will help scale Fyous’s polymorphic moulding technology and enable quicker production of footwear components.
Additionally, it will support an intensive 18-month clinical trial, conducted collaboratively with the Universities of Salford, Sheffield and Leeds, alongside two NHS Trusts and two National Institutes for Health and Care Research organizations.
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Co-founder Thomas Bloomfield expressed gratitude for the funding, highlighting the continued development of their proprietary technology.
The company aims to create bespoke soles tailored perfectly to individual patients’ feet within hours.
Co-founder Joshua Shires conveyed the evolution of their vision, acknowledging the potential of their technology to significantly impact the lives of patients with diabetes and others requiring tailored footwear due to medical conditions.
Dr. Dinesh Selvarajah, senior lecturer in Diabetes at the University of Sheffield and overseeing the clinical trial, emphasized the urgency in addressing diabetes-related amputations.
He highlighted the potential for Fyous’s innovative footwear to substantially reduce foot ulceration risks and amputations.
The project is an exciting prospect, with promising patient benefits and potential long-term cost savings for the NHS.
