Last Thursday, UNYQ was invited to the White House for a special event celebrating inclusive design, assistive technology and prosthetics. It was a magical day highlighting inspiring, innovative and fashionable technology for people with all types of needs.
UNYQ was honored to have two designs featured in the event: UNYQ Align™ and UNYQ Performance™. Watch our UNYQERS on stage at the event.
DJ Patil, US Chief Data Scientist, gave opening remarks, calling attention to the work UNYQ is doing with Intel’s Internet of Things (IoT) team & Studio Bitonti to dramatically improve scoliosis treatment.
At the event, we unveiled UNYQ Align™, including a concept scoliosis brace by Studio Bitonti. Francis Bitonti, Peter Wildfeuer and Li Chen used innovative topology optimization technology to create the most lightweight and beautiful scoliosis brace.
Grace Mosier, a 15 year old diagnosed with scoliosis earlier this year, told the audience, “I’m here to help spread the word to other people with scoliosis that there is new technology that can help them feel so much more comfortable and confident in their brace, like it did for me.”
UNYQ Align™ is powered by the Intel Curie™ module, giving the wearer insightful data that helps her reach her treatment goals. Shashi Jain, IoT Innovation Manager at Intel, joined us at the event.
Kyle Garcia, retired US Marine Sergeant, wounded in Afghanistan, told the audience he likes wearing a UNYQ prosthetic cover because it “turns the conversation from disability to design.”
Ian Fothergill and Lauren Brousseau from the prosthetics team at Walter Reed Medical Center joined us at the event, showcasing both examples of UNYQ Style™ and UNYQ Performance™.
The event also brought together our industry leaders, including Tom Frise, Executive Director of American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) and Alison Cernich, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH).
Maria Town, Associate Director for White House Office of Public Engagement, closed the event, capturing the overall sentiment of the day perfectly, “It’s not about looking normal. It’s about looking good, and however you define that to be.”
Many thanks to the White House Offices of Public Engagement and Science & Technology Policy for putting together such an incredible event! We look forward to continuing the #DesignForAll movement!
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