When a retired Paralympian wanted to play tennis despite losing his fingers, University of Calgary student Huzaifa Shafiq stepped up with an innovative solution.
The mechanical engineering undergraduate, with a minor in biomedical engineering, developed a custom prosthetic device for retired Paralympian Zak Madell, allowing him to swing a racket again. That project sparked the idea that became Dextera — a startup Shafiq co-founded with Haziq Sabri, a mechanical engineering master’s student, to make prosthetics for finger amputees more accessible and affordable.
In his second year of undergrad, Shafiq entered the Innovation for Health competition, where he was tasked with creating a hand prosthetic for a patient missing all five fingers. His team didn’t win, but the experience opened Shafiq’s eyes to an unmet need in prosthetic technology.
“Because I was working in that space, that’s when I realized that there really aren’t many solutions for this specific problem — people that are missing their fingers. There are solutions for people missing their full hands, but not for fingers.” said Shafiq.
After the event, he was introduced to Madell. Shafiq ended up building a custom device to help Madell grip a racket.
Most existing prosthetics focus on full-hand replacements, and the few finger devices available cost between $3,000 and $10,000 each. Wanting to change that, he set out to develop an affordable alternative.
To turn his idea into reality, Shafiq enlisted his friend Haziq Sabri as a co-founder, knowing it was an ambitious project to tackle alone. They named their venture Dextera, derived from the word dexterity.
Shafiq and Sabri also tapped into campus resources to accelerate their startup’s growth. Shafiq first joined the Hunter Hub’s Business Playbook program to support Dextura getting off the ground. Now the team is part of the Hub’s flagship Launchpad incubator.
“This year, I’ve joined the Launch Pad program, which is a flagship program by Hunter Hub, to really push this into a profitable business while making change in the community,” said Shafiq.
Dextera’s approach is what sets it apart in the prosthetics field. Traditional custom prosthetic-making involves moulded fittings and repeated adjustments — a costly, time-consuming process.
In contrast, Shafiq said Dextera uses a 3D scan of the residual hand and a custom algorithm to achieve a near-perfect fit on the first try.
“What we have done is we take a 3D scan of their residual limb, and we have our tested algorithm we apply that help us get a perfect fitting socket almost the first try, and that’s what saves us a lot of the cost. Along with utilizing AI and 3D printing, we’re able to really maximize our production line and our process from taking an idea and building the final product,” said Shafiq.
The startup now offers two product lines. One is a general device line — simple tools that anyone with a finger amputation or weakness can use to improve their quality of life. For example, Dextera designed a bottle-opener attachment to help individuals without fingers twist open bottles, and a magnetic utensil holder for gripping cutlery. These ready-made gadgets can be ordered and shipped directly to users.
The second line is custom prosthetics tailored to individuals. After a 3D scan of a client’s residual hand, the team designs a personalized device, such as their first custom product, True Swing, which enables users missing fingers to grip and swing a racket for sports like tennis or badminton.
With several products now released, Dextera is looking for more on-campus feedback.
“If you’re on campus or anywhere in Calgary, please reach out to us on our website or Instagram,” Shafiq urged, inviting anyone to try Dextera’s creations. “We’d love to connect with you and set you up with a device.”
Through innovation and community collaboration, Dextera aims to make independence not a privilege, but a standard for every finger amputee.
More details about Dextera and its products are available on the team’s website and Instagram.