Göteborgs Posten interviews Ulf Karlsson, one of five persons in Sweden to have received Integrum’s e-OPRA™ Implant System

Göteborgs Posten, the largest newspaper in Western Sweden, interviewed Ulf Karlsson regarding the impact which the unique e-OPRA™ Implant System has had on his life. This unique treatment, developed through a research collaboration between Chalmers University of Technology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and Integrum AB, allows Ulf to communicate directly between his brain and his prosthesis.

Following his tragic accident and subsequent amputation, Ulf received a traditional socket prosthesis, which he never felt was adequate, and consequently he lived without his right arm for many years. He was then very fortunate to come to Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and into the care of Dr. Rickard Brånemark, who was pioneering the further developments within the OPRA™ Implant System, and its advanced applications in the rehabilitation of amputees.

Dr. Brånemark was also leading the surgical team in the treatment of amputees, and in treating Ulf, decided to utilize Integrum’s advanced technology to enable “biological control” of the prosthesis. Essentially that his brain alone dictated the movements of his new arm; a technology which is today known as the e-OPRA™ Implant System.

Ulf then began the rehabilitation and fine-tuning process, to ensure that he truly achieved biological control of his prosthesis. Dr. Max Ortiz Catalán has been instrumental not only for Ulf, but for the e-OPRA™ Implant System project itself.

Initially, while at Integrum, his research conducted pursuing his master’s thesis generated great interest within the scientific community. In 2014, he received his PhD at Chalmers, under the guidance of Bo Håkansson, and in collaboration with Rickard Brånemark at Sahlgrenska.

In 2017, at the Volvo Group meeting in Gothenburg, both he and Integrum received extensive international media attention when French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven acknowledged the e-OPRA™ as a revolutionary breakthrough in therapy for amputees.  Dr. Catalán has also held the position as head of R&D, Integrum, and most recently founded the Center for Bionics and Pain Research in Gothenburg.

Today, Ulf describes the feeling as a little “science fiction”, but that in terms of control and response, it is the same as using his other “real” hand. Through this unique technology, his thoughts and the body’s electrical signals are simply converted to instructions directed through his implant to his prosthetic arm.

Read the full story (in Swedish, paywall) here

About Integrum 

Integrum AB is a publicly traded company (INTEG B: Nasdaq First North exchange) based outside of Gothenburg, Sweden, with a US subsidiary in San Francisco, CA. Since 1990 osseointegration, the science behind the OPRA™ Implant System has been helping individuals with amputations towards an improved quality of life.

Thorough surgical experience gained over almost three decades from 500 surgeries in 14 countries has led to the development of Integrum’s system for bone-anchored prosthetics – a beneficial alternative to the traditionally used socket prosthesis. Integrum’s OPRA™ Implant System was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015 for use in the US under a Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation, which was reviewed through the Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) pathway, which limited the level of marketing and sales activities.

In December 2020, Integrum successfully completed the most stringent medical device regulatory procedure in the world, and based on the solid scientific data submitted, was granted a PMA by the FDA for the OPRAImplant System, which is the only technology approved for above knee, bone-anchored prosthetics in the U.S. More information on the company and its innovative solutions for amputees can be found at www.integrum.se.