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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

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We talk with Arlene Gillis about how prosthetics and orthotics education is evolving and what it takes to train clinicians who can thrive in modern practice. We dig into hands-on fabrication, residency redesign, and the workforce pipeline that clinics need to keep patient care strong.

• Arlene’s path into prosthetics and orthotics through patient translation and a life-changing fitting
• How becoming an educator requires a new skill set beyond clinical training
• What the move to master’s level O&P education changes for standards, scope, and credibility
• Why hands-on fabrication time still matters even in digital and 3D printing workflows
• Traditional residency versus embedded residency and how mentorship can continue after graduation
• Who today’s O&P students are and how goals shift by background and generation
• Work-life balance, debt pressure, and why some young clinicians leave for higher-paying roles
• Business skills employers want most including coding, front office process, and cost awareness
• Digital workflow training including scanning, CAD, carvers, 3D printers, and EMR exposure
• Care extenders as a clinic model to improve access, speed, and workforce capacity

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We break down what we saw at RAPID, from vapor smoothing and metal printing to reinforcement methods and silicone printing that could reshape interfaces. Then we talk with Alex Dahinten about building better socket comfort through real time adjustability and what it takes to get a new prosthetic solution into clinics through Medicare coding.

• Vapor smoothing as a path to cleaner looking 3D printed parts and the safety tradeoffs behind different chemicals
• What a smaller HP powder bed fusion machine could mean for clinic workflows and cost per part
• Foil based metal manufacturing as an alternative to powder handling for tight tolerance small parts
• Reinforcing thermoplastics by injecting fiber and resin into printed channels and why pricing matters

We then hear:
• Alex’s path from biomedical engineering into prosthetics and orthotics
• Upper limb prosthetics as systems integration with higher costs and heavier follow up burden
• Capacity building in global health as the difference between short term missions and sustainable care
• Why the socket interface drives outcomes and how compliance improves comfort without losing energy transfer
• Ethnocare’s Overlay air bladder sleeve for residual limb volume management and the doffing effect problem
• Medicare L5657 and the impact of a fee schedule on clinician and patient access

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We talk with Danielle Robins about building orthoses and prostheses for pets and why veterinary rehab often lacks the training and support needed for consistent outcomes. We dig into what dogs actually need most, how remote consulting works across states and countries, and why better education could change the standard of care.

• Danielle's path from PT shadowing to O&P and then into animal orthotics after her own dog’s injury
• Why canine stifle bracing for CCL or ACL injuries dominates veterinary orthotics
• How animal biomechanics, suspension, and compliance make pet devices a different craft than human O&P
• Why cats rarely get devices and why three-legged cats often cope better than dogs
• Orthotics as a surgery alternative for ligaments, Achilles rehab, and challenging fusions
• Prosthetic candidacy, partial limb planning, and the veterinary tendency toward full amputation
• When wheelchairs and carts beat braces and prostheses
• The Orthopets shutdown and how it reshaped the veterinary O&P supply landscape
• Virtual casting support, fiberglass techniques, and using 3D scans to reduce shipping time
• Knowledge hoarding in a tiny market and Danielle's push toward a baseline certification
• Where 3D printing may fit

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We talk with Maurice Johnson from Floyd Brace and Limb about what it really takes to scale digital fabrication in a multi-clinic prosthetics and orthotics business without losing quality. We get candid about software friction, printer economics, adjustable socket ethics, and why turnaround time and cash flow often matter as much as the tech.

• Floyd Brace and Limb’s growth from a one-office shop to a multi-location model
• why centralizing fabrication matters when clinicians need to stay patient-facing
• the industry’s fragmented scanning to CAD to print workflow and why it blocks repeatability
• what Floyd prints today and why definitive sockets still often stay carbon fiber or outsourced
• real-world cost targets and the volume problem with larger printers
• AirFit-style transtibial consistency as a way to reduce heavy CAD dependence
• Formlabs size limits, throughput questions, and hybrid print plus outsource strategies
• adjustable sockets as both a patient benefit and an ethical billing discussion
• material extrusion TPU flexible inners as an alternative to powder-bed fusion variability
• early thinking on 3D printed SMOs and by-measurement versus cast-and-scan workflows

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Guest Zoltan Karpati explains scan-to-fit, AI landmarking, and XR training while sharing a personal pet prosthetics story and a unified roadmap.

• replacing clear checks with real flexible interfaces for truer diagnostics
• extending second diagnostic wear to validate cushioning and relief
• controlling variables by avoiding returns to the old socket
• dialing fit with adjustable sockets and reduced manual labor
• scan-to-fit workflows with phone-based scanning and AI landmarks
• exporting to 3D printing or CNC with white-label options
• spatial reality training screens for classroom-friendly 3D design
• product roadmap for insoles, AFOs, and order management system
• personal story powering pet prosthetic development

Special thanks to Advanced 3D for sponsoring this episode.

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