Building prosthetic sockets that automatically adjust as limb volume changes
Residual limbs change size throughout the day with activity, temperature and fluid changes. Traditional prosthetic sockets can become too tight or loose, requiring adjustments to maintain comfort and mobility. Managing the fit can interrupt everyday activities.
Vessl Prosthetics makes Kinn, an automatic fit-adjustment system built into a custom prosthetic socket. Walking powers the adjustment, drawing socket panels inward to a limit set by the prosthetist, so wearers need less manual intervention.
What stands out about Vessl Prosthetics
Kinn has entered the market, with revenue from pilot sales to prosthetists reported by London's economic development agency.
Completed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round in January 2025.
Selected for investment of up to CAD 500,000 through Ontario's Life Sciences Innovation Fund in June 2025.
Awarded a CanExport grant agreement of over CAD 30,000 for 2026–27 to pursue international R&D partnership opportunities.
Co-founder Sydney Robinson won the 2025 Baylis Ontario Life Sciences Innovator of the Year award for her leadership on Kinn.
Co-founder Oleksiy Zaika earned a PhD in Western's Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, relevant to prosthetic interfaces.
Selected for the 2023 Techstars Fort Worth Physical Health accelerator cohort.
Housed in the BioNext incubator at Western University’s Robarts Research Institute during the development of its adjustable socket.
Won CAD 25,000 at the 2022 MSK Innovation Competition hosted by Western’s Bone and Joint Institute and Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship.
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