TRAILBLAZING MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY START-UP LAUNCHES CREATIVE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO EDUCATE DIABETICS ON PROPER FOOT CARE

CALGARY, June 28, 2012 — Calgary-based medical technology start-up Orpyx is turning traditional healthcare marketing on its head with their new diabetes awareness campaign, Diabetes Can Knock You Off Your Feet. Orpyx's social media friendly initiative uses the growing trend of animated infographics to dynamically communicate their key message.

Orpyx is developing a sensor-based insole that will empower diabetics to play a more active role in the prevention of diabetes-related foot complications. Part of Orpyx's mission is to increase awareness around the importance of prevention relating to diabetic foot care. Over the course of their disease, more than 60% of diabetics will suffer from peripheral nerve damage, or numb feet, caused by their diabetes. This lack of pain feedback can lead to a host of devastating side effects including infections, ulcers and ultimately, amputations. When proper prevention steps are observed, amputations can be reduced by up to 85%.

"Our challenge was in finding a way to make the subject matter stick," said Dr. Breanne Everett, CEO of Orpyx Medical Technologies. "Unfortunately, diabetes is being diagnosed more frequently and at a younger age than ever before so we have to shift our communication strategy to effectively speak to this audience. Animated infographics are a visually compelling communication medium that can translate complex data into a visual format that is easy to follow and even easier to share."

Diabetes technology is a burgeoning industry, trying to keep up to the staggering increase in annual diagnosis rates. As consumers become more dependent on apps, mobile devices and social media in their personal lives, the move to introduce technology into disease management and prevention seems only natural. Social media isn't a new concept for Orpyx. In just under a year, they have amassed an impressive following of engaged users across popular social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. Orpyx hopes that its campaign approach will hit home with the increasingly tech-savvy diabetes advocates, influencers and educators. The animated infographic is available to view and share on Orpyx's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/orpyx), or via their website (www.orpyx.com).

ABOUT ORPYX MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES:

Orpyx was created out of a profound desire to address the swiftly-growing global diabetes epidemic and its related complications, notably that of diabetic peripheral neuropathy – loss of feeling and sensory feedback in the feet experienced by an estimated 60-percent of the 350 million diabetics worldwide, that can lead to tissue damage, infection, ulceration and amputation.

Founded by Calgary surgical resident Dr. Breanne Everett, Orpyx is behind two highly innovative plantar sensory replacement systems, the SurroSense Rx and the SurroGait Rx, that use pressure sensor-embedded shoe insoles to determine force exerted over the bottom of the feet, and wirelessly transmit collected information to a back pad, mobile device or wristwatch worn by the user. Employing the phenomenon of neuroplasticity – the potential of the human brain to rewire itself, the patient is able to interpret the sensory stimulus felt on the back as that from the feet, and positively adjust their gait, balance, mobility and overall health as a result.