Meet The 2023 Go:Tech Awards Winners: Limbs & Things Ltd

Renowned HealthTech company, Limbs And Things, emerged as the recipient of the prestigious Healthtech Business Of The Year accolade at the esteemed 2023 Go:Tech Awards. The distinguished panel of judges was once again left in awe by the exceptional enterprises contending for this year’s esteemed recognition.

With over three decades of experience, Limbs And Things stands as a global frontrunner in crafting and producing medical task trainers. Their remarkable achievement in securing this award further solidifies their position in the industry. The company’s unwavering commitment to excellence has enabled it to expand its reach to more than 50 countries across the globe.

As a privately owned and operated HealthTech enterprise, the company continues to flourish. Anticipated to exceed expectations, their projected turnover for the year is set to rise from £24m to an impressive £27m, demonstrating their sustained growth and success in the field.

We caught up with the team at Limbs & Things after scooping the Go:Tech Awards trophy to talk inspiration, breakthroughs and more.

Can you share with us the inspiration behind your winning business and how it addresses a specific industry challenge or opportunity?

We were founded over 30 years ago by Margot Cooper, a medical illustrator who was at the forefront of developing new ways of gaining clinical skills. She saw the need and opportunity to create realistic, anatomically accurate and cost-effective medical training products. Since the beginning, we have led through innovation and close partnership working with the medical profession to ensure we are developing products based on insight and need.

Could you describe the key milestones or breakthroughs you achieved during the development of your project, and how they contributed to its success?

Our Prompt Flex range, developed in collaboration with the Bristol-based PROMPT Maternity Foundation, is undoubtedly the range we are best known for. It is the only birthing simulator to show evidenced improvements in maternal and baby outcomes. Since our training programme with the simulators was instated at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, there have been zero cases of Erb’s Palsy there. The training programme is now in 20 countries and accounts for 30% of our global sales.

We are also well known for our task trainers for catheterisations and our IV arm. Some 90% of all patients admitted to the hospital will need to have an IV inserted, so these products are essential for trainees to practise on.

As a winner at the Go:Tech Awards, what advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or innovators who are looking to make a difference in the technology sector?

Be clear on your mission and remain focused on delivering it. Although we are constantly innovating and developing new and updated products, our mission has remained consistent throughout; to improve patient outcomes through easy-to-use, cost-effective, realistic medical training products.

And listen closely to your market. We work side by side with medical practitioners all over the world to ensure we are creating what they need.

Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs considering entering the Go:Tech Awards in the future?

It’s very easy to be focused on the day job and not find the time to do things like award entries. But It’s well worth entering – winning the HealthTech Business of The Year Award is a fantastic accolade for us. Being able to celebrate and have that recognition for our whole team is important. Find the time and go for it!

Looking ahead, what are your future plans for your business?

We are continuing to break new ground in simulation by using more AR and technology in our products. We have some incredible new products in development that will be transformational in the marketplace, particularly in developing countries like India. We can’t say too much about them at this point, but watch this space!

The medical simulation market is on a steep upward trajectory and is predicted to triple in size globally in the next seven years to around $5.48bn. We have ambitious growth plans – particularly looking at expanding our markets to the USA and Europe, as well as in Asia and South America where this type of anatomically realistic task trainers is still in its infancy.