Developing low cost, high-quality medical technologies for children and adults with disabilities in Peru

More than 932,000 people have a physical disability in Peru alone limiting their mobility. Half of these people are women but all of them experience trouble getting work due to their disability. And because of this, they often can't get the medical care they need. 

PIXED is a social enterprise that specializes in the development of low cost, high-quality medical technologies for children and adults with disabilities, including 3D-printed prosthetics. During the onset of the pandemic, the enterprise manufactured 3D-printed personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and local residents.

Beyond guiding its clients through the entire process of acquiring the prosthesis, PIXED offers psychological and technical accompaniment to ensure the successful integration of the product. Learning how to adapt to one’s lifestyle can be overwhelming, thus, PIXED commits to a long-term relationship with each client. In doing so, the enterprise can adjust the hardware as each person’s body evolves which happens more frequently with children during their transition to adulthood. Through this work, PIXED has improved the lives of over 70 families and 20 health institutions. Due to the success of their products as well as the trust of their clients, PIXED expanded beyond Peru and into the United States, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador and Honduras.

PIXED proves how access to jobs and higher incomes can be solved through inclusive design and new manufacturing technologies.

Programme support:

NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship support PIXED because of its unique approach to expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities as well as parents of children with disabilities by providing them access to affordable 3D printed prosthetics.

In partnership with NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, PIXED will strengthen its commercial strategy including new financing options to make its orthotics and prosthetics more affordable to clients. NESsT will support PIXED to increase its production, to provide psychological and rehabilitation services to help its clients adjust in the long-term, and to implement marketing campaigns that teach employers about the benefits of integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices into their workplaces.