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Part 1: Building a Design Firm Around Craftsmanship and Longevity

Mike Laut, founder and president of Laut Design in Raleigh, shared how a freelance operation started from his college apartment at NC State grew into one of the region's leading industrial design firms. Throughout the conversation, Mike emphasized the value of craftsmanship, durability, and thoughtful design, drawing parallels between classic machine tools, family-owned manufacturers, and successful modern businesses. He discussed his passion for restoring vintage milling machines and lathes, believing that older equipment often embodies a level of quality, simplicity, and pride that is missing from many modern products. Mike also highlighted the importance of company culture, surrounding himself with talented people, and only working with clients who share similar values. His philosophy centers on creating products that solve real human problems while building a business designed to last for generations.

Part 2: A Potential Industry Disruptor

After Mike's interview, Brent and Joris discussed the newly announced Formlabs large-format SLS printer, which dramatically increases build volume while entering the market at a price point far below traditional industrial powder-bed fusion systems. They explored how Formlabs is leveraging years of printing data, thermal monitoring, and software development to address some of the biggest challenges in SLS manufacturing, including print consistency and failure detection. While both hosts expressed excitement about the machine's potential to make industrial additive manufacturing more accessible, they also raised questions about first-generation reliability, material limitations, cooling times, and the long-term economics of Formlabs' powder ecosystem. The consensus was that the release could significantly disrupt established players such as HP, EOS, and Farsoon by lowering barriers to entry and making high-volume powder-bed printing attainable for smaller businesses, service bureaus, and healthcare applications such as prosthetics and orthotics.

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In this episode of the Prosthetics & Orthotics Podcast, Reagan Perry shares her remarkable journey from years of limb-salvage surgeries to making the life-changing decision to undergo a through-knee amputation at just 23 years old. Reagan opens up about the realities of becoming an amputee, the emotional highs and lows of recovery, and why the process was far more complex than she was led to believe.

The conversation explores the often-overlooked gaps in patient education, the importance of finding clinicians who truly listen, and the challenges many amputees face when navigating prosthetic care. Reagan candidly discusses her frustrations with traditional socket prostheses, her decision to pursue osseointegration, and how the technology has transformed her daily life by allowing her to focus less on her prosthesis and more on living.

As a future physician and advocate, Reagan also shares her passion for the So Everybody Can Move initiative, which is working to expand insurance coverage for activity-specific prosthetic devices. From the role of peer support to the impact of insurance barriers, this episode offers an honest and powerful look at what life after amputation is really like, and why patients deserve more transparency, more options, and a greater voice in their care.

Whether you're a clinician, amputee, caregiver, or simply interested in the future of mobility, this episode provides valuable insights into resilience, innovation, and the realities behind the prosthetic journey.

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In this episode, Brent Wright and Joris Peels break down the 2025 Embla Medical Annual Report and explore what it reveals about the future of the prosthetics and orthotics industry. While Embla continues to post steady growth and strong profitability, the discussion centers on larger questions: Is the industry's future in acquiring more clinics or creating new products and markets? The conversation examines Embla's expansion into patient care, neuro-orthotics, and bracing, while highlighting a startling statistic that only 30-40% of new amputees worldwide receive a prosthetic solution. Brent and Joris debate whether the greatest opportunity lies not in serving existing reimbursed markets, but in developing affordable solutions for the millions of underserved patients globally. Along the way, they discuss innovation, 3D printing, AI, reimbursement challenges, acquisitions, and what it will take for the next generation of O&P companies to move beyond simply growing revenue and toward truly transforming patient care

Special thanks to Advanced 3D for sponsoring this episode.

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