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. It currently employs more than 3,000 staff in 25 locations according to their 2017 In 2006, the company was named as a "technology pioneer" by the World Economic Forum.
Acquisitions
Since 2000, Össur has acquired 16 companies. The Gibaud Group operates autonomously.
Össur operates five research and development departments in four countries, employing 76 people. In-house R&D also partners with third parties, including universities and research companies. In 2007, R&D investment amounted to 6 percent of the company's total sales. The same year, 22 US patents were granted to Össur and 37 new applications filed. 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.
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, a ligament brace for knees used for both rehabilitation and for injury prevention, as well as cervical collars. Össur entered the compression therapy segment with the acquisition of the French company Gibaud. Products include bandages, tights, stockings, knee highs and stump socks.
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 engineerVan Phillips and worn by Alan Oliveira and other amputee athletes is a derivative of this product line. 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. 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. Össur has been developing a bionic limb controlled using implanted myoelectric sensors developed by the Alfred Mann Foundation. One patient has used the limb for over a year, and reports a positive experience. Ossur says that the implantable control sensors will be a technology upgrade for its prosthetics in three to five years.
