Community of People with Amputations (COPA)

Problem Statement

There are more than a million people with lower limb amputation in Mexico, however only three people out of every 100 will walk again with a prosthesis and recover their autonomy due to various factors. One of those is the need for accessible, reliable information and support to improve their rehabilitation and overall quality of life.

Target Group

Our target group includes lower limb amputees, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals in Mexico. This demographic often lacks the necessary resources and information to effectively manage post-amputation care and rehabilitation.

Proposed Solution and Hub Activities

Being Jalisco a leading state in the supply of care, but also with a high number of people who suffer an amputation the generation of an event focused on the Community of Persons with Amputation in Mexico was key to our work, which we conceive as COPA, while developing PIA, an AI-powered virtual assistant, to provide personalized support and information to amputees. By leveraging artificial intelligence, PIA will address information gap and connect users with vital resources, healthcare professionals, and support networks. This solution aims to enhance the rehabilitation process and improve the quality of life for amputees.

Hub Activities

1. Community Events: Organizing events to gather feedback and raise awareness.

2. Development: Creating and refining the AI assistant, PIA.

3. Partnerships: Collaborating with universities, prosthesis developers, and nonprofits.

4. Launch: Rolling out the MVP at a community event in December 2024.

5. Evaluation: Conducting a thorough assessment and improvement phase by March 2025.

6. Expansion: Spreading the project to Latin America starting in May 2025.

Short & Long-term Goals/Results

We have distributed over 500 "First Steps After Amputation" guides, organized two community gatherings of more than 100 people, and delivered with help of our partners one psychology accompanying meeting for the community and help to obtain 20 prosthesis for lower body amputees. 

Our next steps are:

• Short-Term Goals:

  • Report on amputees in Mexico by July 2024
    Launch MVP to 1,000 users by December 2024.

  • Evaluate and refine PIA by March 2025.

  • Begin Latin American expansion in May 2025.

• Long-Term Goals:

  • Reach 10,000 users in Mexico by 2025

Collaborators

Proactible:  A social enterprise giving attention to more than 100 people per year in the State of Jalisco through private services and collaborations with several government institutions and nonprofits. 

Tec de Monterrey Campus Guadalajara: One of the biggest private univsersities across México with a Biomechatronic Lab, we work together in projects related to R&D for amputees treatment and lifestyle improvement. 

Tecnologías para la Comunidad: A non-profit focused on helping lower body amputees to walk again and recover their autonomy with more than 10 years of experiences. 

Nanoblast: a startup working in the development of regenerative medicine products and services to reduce amputations across México. It´s one the biggest sponsor of every initiative we have. 

O and P, Ottobock, Ossur: Prosthesis developers. They support us with information and show room of their products.