Executive Director Pat DeFelice stated, “We are pleased to provide this extraordinary offering. Those who have slipped out of the mainstream as a result of disfiguring trauma, whether from accident, illness or injury, and have no recourse, will receive the surgery required to enable them to return to happy, productive lives."
“It’s no secret that as we place increased wear and tear on aging athletic bodies, the onus falls to the orthopedic community to provide solutions. Add to that illness, injury, violence and accident resulting in severe trauma and the need is of mammoth proportion. The intent of FOR is to advance patient-specific solutions through research, using additive technologies within orthopedic solutions. The vision of better patient outcome is shared by both additive and orthopedic companies, and I expect, based on early feedback, that individuals and companies alike intend to support this necessary initiative.” says Ms. DeFelice.
Initial funding was received from the founders of Oxford Performance Materials (OPM), but it seems clear that the industry would want to fund this initiative and will do so. The great strength of FOR is that it can provide needed trauma surgery around the world, on a patient-specific implant basis and sponsor necessary research in the new arena of utilizing additive manufacturing to build polymer/PEKK implant solutions, thereby increasing knowledge within this field. To donate to the foundation, visit http://www.FORinternational.org.