Alpha Orthotics Corporation Release: Bunion Aid(TM) Wins Medical Design Excellence Award

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - April 06, 2009) -

Alpha Orthotics Corporation today announced that Bunion Aid, a new day/night flexible hinged foot splint for people with mild to moderate bunions received the 2009 Medical Design Excellence Award. Bunion Aid eases bunion pain and helps both women and men return to an active lifestyle. Bunion Aid is easy to apply, fits on the left or right foot and one size fits all. The Bunion Aid splint was designed and manufactured by Alpha Orthotics’ parent company Hallufix AG in Munich, Germany. The MDEA Award follows closely on the heels of Bunion Aid being honored with a prestigious international “Red Dot” design Award (www.red-dot.de).

The Medical Design Excellence Awards competition is organized and presented by Canon Communications LLC (Los Angeles) and is the only awards program that exclusively recognizes contributions and advances in the design of medical products. Entries are evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, including innovative use of materials, user-related functions that improve healthcare delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to the patient, and the ability of the product development team to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives.

“We are honored to have been recognized for the innovative nature of the Bunion Aid design,” said Gaby Federal, CEO of Alpha Orthotics Corporation. “Bunion Aid is the first hinged splint of its kind that eases pain and allows for a return to activities such as walking, running, golfing and dancing.”

Bunion Aid is a combination of a medical-grade plastic splint and Velcro® fastening metatarsal and toe straps. The plastic portion of the splint is hinged and fastened along the inside border of the foot with a toe and metatarsal strap. The straps and the splint provide three-point correction of the bunion deformity though-out the gait cycle. The metatarsal arch is optimally stabilized, the bunion relieved, the mal-positioning of the toe corrected and the foot brought back and held in its natural position. Bunion Aid can be purchased on the Alpha Orthotics website at http://www.alphaorthotics.com, and costs $59.95.

A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine, and diagnostics.

The 2009 Medical Design Excellence Award winners will be honored at a ceremony during the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East Conference and Exposition, June 9-11, 2009, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Gold and silver award recipients will be announced at this time.

About Alpha Orthotics Corporation USA

Alpha Orthotics Corporation (http://www.alphaorthotics.com) is a wholly owned subsidiary of German Hallufix Corporation. Alpha Orthotics Corporation markets and sells patented, German-engineered non-invasive orthotics products directly to consumers and to the medical community.