Institut Desvern de Protètica

About the Center

Institut Desvern de Protètica is a prosthetics center in Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona, specializing in the design and manufacture of prostheses for people with upper- or lower-limb amputations. In business for 25 years, it describes itself as founded and run by amputees, bringing direct experience of clients’ needs.

Services

The center provides support throughout the prosthetic fitting process, including:

• Personalized guidance to select a suitable prosthetic solution.
• Manufacturing temporary and definitive sockets and complete prostheses in its own workshop.
• Necessary adjustments and fittings.
• Gait retraining.
• Help with individual questions and concerns.

Facilities and Technology

The center has a dedicated building with consultation rooms, computerized measurement-taking, a fitting and assembly workshop, and an indoor gait-training room. It also has a 300-square-meter outdoor space designed for gait retraining, with a garden, grass, uneven surfaces, sidewalks, variable-incline ramps, and stairs. Its 200-square-meter in-house manufacturing workshop has up-to-date equipment and materials.

The center works with high-end prosthetic components, including C-Leg 4, Kenevo, and Genium X3 knees; Triton Smart Ankle and Meridium feet; the DynamicArm elbow; and Michelangelo and bebionic hands. It was among the first prosthetic centers in Europe to offer these products when they launched commercially, with premium certifications from suppliers such as Ottobock, Össur, Alps, EMO, and Medi. It works directly with leading manufacturers’ research and development teams, especially Germany’s Ottobock.

Certifications and Health-System Agreements

The center is certified by leading global orthopedic-equipment brands, including Ottobock, Össur, and Alps, and is an authorized provider within Catalonia’s health system, with certified protocols and processes.

Community Work and Volunteering

Institut Desvern works with organizations addressing landmines and provides technical prosthetics training to amputees from emerging countries. Its initiatives include:

• Supporting people affected by the Haiti earthquake with foundations of “La Caixa” and FC Barcelona, including training prosthetists, setting up a workshop in Haiti, and fitting prostheses for about 15 orphaned children who came to Sant Just Desvern.
• Working since 2003 with the Sant Jordi Amputee Association and courier company MRW on “For and Through Solidarity,” which collects, recycles, and stores used prosthetic and orthopedic equipment for shipment to countries in need.
• Establishing a prosthetics and rehabilitation center in Kosovo with the Pax Foundation and Sant Jordi Amputee Association to fit prostheses for 70 people who had lost limbs to landmines.
• Sending used prostheses to African countries in collaboration with Rotary clubs in Catalonia.
• Providing care for war refugees from Mozambique, Cambodia, and Syria who were brought to the institute with help from several associations.

Location and Contact

Address: 7 Carrer Pont, 08960 Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona, Spain. Phone: +34 933 710 108. Fax: +34 93 371 03 22. Email: institut@desvern.cat.

Hours: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–2 p.m. and 3:30–6:30 p.m.; Friday, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. The center is on Instagram (@institutdesvern), Facebook (institutdesvern), and X (@idesvern).