Due to an electrical issue, this week we’re reposting one of our top episodes. Please enjoy our January 2026 conversation with Dr. Nick Were, of Prothea Kenya!

This post and podcast are for informational purposes only, and are not intended as medical advice. Please contact a healthcare professional with any medical questions.

“Don’t copy and paste. Copy and innovate,”says Prothea Kenya Co-Founder and Managing Director Dr. Nick Were.

That’s exactly what he’s doing, in his career as an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences–as well as the company he co-founded in 2023.

“I’ve always been really passionate about mechanics,” Dr. Were says.

“…I really like how things work…(surgery allows me to mix that passion with medicine).

“…You’re fixing bones, there’s lots of biomechanic principles, and most importantly, most of the cases you see are successful. You fix someone, and he’s walking in about two months.

“That’s really the joy.”

Dr. Were combines his passion for making things work with cutting-edge technologies, to improve medicine–and lives–in Kenya.

Prothea Kenya, the only successful 3D printing prosthetic device company In East and Central Africa, 3D prints prosthetic devices for amputees.

The results can be life-changing.

Innovating prosthetics

At about half the cost of creating a traditional prosthetic, Prothea Kenya produces devices that are lighter, as well as customized to the individual. In addition, the production process is much quicker than that of creating a traditional prosthetic device.

And once fitted with these 3D printed prostheses and trained to use the new devices, Dr. Were’s patients can lead productive lives once again–as opposed to being immobilized and unemployed.

But 3D printing isn’t the only cutting-edge technology he’s using, to create a better future.

VR and rehabilitation

“The virtual reality is really amazing,” Dr. Were says, explaining the ways he uses virtual reality for amputee rehabilitation.

As patients adapt to their new devices,they can experience AI-generated immersive scenarios, based on their likes and interests. Meanwhile, VR is helping with pain management and allowing them to adjust to their new devices, due to its ability to “trick” the brain.

“In VR, when you look down, you have both legs,” Dr. Were explains.

“And you’re moving. And the legs appear normal. This has an effect on the brain…and it helps with the coping, …the phantom pain and quite a number of things.”

Excellence, VR and–fashion?

In addition to his work with prosthetic devices, Dr. Were, who is Chief Medical Officer at digital healthcare platform Docthus Healthtech, uses mixed reality to update fellow healthcare professionals on current trends in medicine. He also uses virtual reality to provide medical education.

But perhaps the most exciting of his innovations is still evolving.

In 2025, Dr. Were produced the first “Mr. and Miss Amputee Kenya Fashion Show”!

And he’s currently seeking sponsors, in order to produce it again in 2026.

For amputees, he says, the event offers a community of comfort and validation.

“(We’re) really going against the narrative of poverty and disability,” he says.

(Know a potential sponsor, or sponsors? Reach out to Dr. Were at Prothea Kenya!)

Dr. Were talked about his background, shared the story of creating Prothea Kenya and offered a preview of what’s next!

On this edition of Over Coffee® we cover:

• What first inspired Dr. Were to pursue medicine as his profession;

• Conditions of healthcare in Kenya;

• Dr. Were’s journey, which led to his becoming an orthopedic surgeon;

• Why he chose orthopedic surgery as his area of specialization;

• How he first became aware of the use of 3D printing for creating prostheses;

• The story of Prothea Kenya;

• Socioeconomic circumstances around amputations in Kenya;

• Prothea Kenya’s training and therapy sessions, with the goal of getting patients comfortable using their new prosthetic devices;

• The use of virtual reality in pain management;

• A study which Dr. Were and his colleagues did with VR in the burn unit of his hospital;

• How to support Prothea Kenya;

• The first-ever Mr. and Miss Amputee Kenya fashion show and the vision behind it, which Prothea Kenya implemented in 2024;

• A preview of the next fashion show Dr. Were and his Prothea Kenya colleagues would like to produce;

• A second initiative he and his team are implementing;

• His vision for expanding his work in 2026;

• One patient he especially wants to help.