Creating affordable finger prosthetics. The origin story of the Ukrainian startup Dotyk Fingers
In our recurring Who Are These People segment, Vector offers founders the opportunity to discuss their projects, covering aspects such as their products, marketing strategies, monetisation, investments, and business plans. The focus this time is on the team of Dotyk Fingers, a Ukrainian startup that uses 3D printing technology to design and manufacture mechanical prosthetics for those who have experienced partial finger loss.
Acting editor-in-chief Yuliia Tkach interviewed Dotyk Fingers’s CEO and founder Oleksandr Ternovyi about the company’s features, promotion, investments, and plans.
How the idea was conceived
This startup has two founders:
● Oleksandr Ternovyi, CEO. A 2019 graduate of the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, he has a background in medical software development for renowned clinics like Charité and UKE. He managed the development and deployment of various medical apps.
● Yevhen Mashkov, CTO. Having graduated from the Donetsk National Technical University in 2012 and the Warsaw University of Technology in 2016, he worked as an engineer for Schneider Energy Systems. In addition to his work on industrial projects, Yevhen has helped develop women’s breast prostheses.
We were inspired to establish this startup after experiences gained while volunteering in the summer of 2023. Oleksandr provided aid to injured Ukrainian veterans seeking prosthetics in Germany.
When dealing with bureaucratic hurdles and insurance companies’ refusals to provide finger prosthetics, I saw how difficult it was even for locals to get the help they needed, this despite Germany’s reputation for having one of the world’s best healthcare systems.
“No matter their age, physical fitness, or whether they intended to stay in Germany, patients lacked access to functional solutions for their fingers,” says Oleksandr Ternovyi.
This led him to embark on his own project to address this issue. “Yevhen Mashkov decided to participate after learning about the initiative through the Berlin IT community. Development began in June 2024. In less than six months, we developed our first finger prosthesis, which substitutes the distal (first) phalanx. It was a complicated process and required over 100 iterations.”
Oleksandr is in charge of marketing, sales, and customer service in the team, while Yevhen manages technical solutions and compliance. “We also partner with consultants across a range of sectors,” Oleksandr said. “We are looking for industrial designers who can join our team and work on solutions for various amputation needs.”
The founders launched a straightforward landing page to present their proposal for finger prosthetics. As Oleksandr points out, they managed to collect more than 30 applications from interested candidates in just two weeks. They have rolled out their product to more than 10 users.
Product and audience
Dotyk Fingers offers innovative prosthetics tailored for partial finger amputations. Oleksandr explains how it works for customers:
“We have introduced a solution that allows people to order finger prostheses themselves only using a smartphone and a photo.
- All you need is to submit a photo of your hand holding a 10-hryvnia coin.
- We then use artificial intelligence to calculate the exact dimensions and automatically tailor our model to match these parameters.
- Next, we send the customer one or two prototypes for testing to ensure a perfect fit. If the fit is not correct, we adjust it accordingly.
- Once the customer confirms that all is good, we proceed to create the final prosthesis from nylon and ship it to the customer.”
He points out that distribution in Ukraine does not require any authorisation from the Ministry of Health. For state-funded prostheses to be available to the public, Dotyk Fingers must ensure its products are registered in the medicine registry and provide the necessary documentation to confirm compliance with ISO quality control standards. The team is working on having the product registered in the medicines database. They aim to submit a complete package of documents by February 2025.
The startup primarily targets veterans and skilled tradespeople, such as carpenters and metalworkers, who have lost their fingers.
“A significant challenge is that modern functional finger prostheses start at 3,000 euros each and can reach up to 17,000 euros in cases of complex amputations. The high price tag is primarily due to centralised production logistics and outdated measurement practices, such as plaster casts, which slow down the process and increase expenses.
Government and insurance companies rarely reimburse these costs, leaving people with cosmetic solutions that are often too expensive and consistently lack functionality. We are focused on making prostheses affordable by localising production, automating the manufacturing process, and using AI to share measurements directly to patients, which significantly cuts down on costs,” says the founder.
Business model and marketing strategy
“Our approach is based on B2C sales, ensuring that anyone in Ukraine who needs a prosthesis can buy one. However, we are also working on a B2B model to make our prostheses available through government programmes.
We are in discussions with organisations like Unbroken and the Ortoped Centre in Poltava to have our prostheses included in the medicine register so they can be received for free through our partners. We are working with German and French charities to arrange funding for Ukrainian projects through their initiatives.
All our prostheses come with a 12-month warranty, and we also extend a 50% discount on each additional purchase. In addition, we are creating extra accessories, including silicone tips and touch screen-compatible coatings, to provide everyone with a customised solution for their everyday needs,” says the founder.
“We rely on several channels for our promotional strategies. First and foremost, we focus on social media, content marketing, website SEO optimisation, and outreach to local communities. In addition, we bring in customers through collaborations with trauma specialists and restorative clinicians. We aim to present our solutions at the 2026 OT World, the largest international exhibition for assistive devices.”
Investments
The founders committed 25,000 euros of their own resources to advance the project. They are currently seeking to raise 75,000 euros in pre-seed funding from the Hamburg Investment Bank to enhance the development of new products.
Plans
“We are developing a prosthesis for the proximal (third) phalanx that could benefit more than 35% of people in Ukraine suffering from finger amputations. This will significantly enhance our market presence and give us the opportunity to help more people.
We are seeking certification to allow us to enter the EU market, as we are already receiving requests from German customers. Orthopaedists there are also showing interest in our products.
Our mission is to provide access to prostheses to anyone who needs them, no matter their geographic location or economic status. Our goal extends beyond simply creating a product; we seek to enrich lives by allowing people to recover lost functionality and continue living actively”, summarises Oleksandr Ternovyi.