Amputee CEO Builds Nebraska Prosthetics Firm on NIH-Backed Research

A National Institutes of Health grant is funding Rakesh Srivastava's team to develop a prosthetic liner that reduces infection risk for people with limb loss. Srivastava is the founder and CEO of Innovative Prosthetics & Orthotics, a Nebraska company delivering custom prosthetic and orthotic care, including onsite fabrication and healthcare services, across offices in Omaha, Grand Island and Hastings.

The company's product range covers prosthetic limbs, cranial helmets and post-mastectomy products. Its research bench draws from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Srivastava has worked closely with the Nebraska Business Development Center and UNO's Department of Biomechanics. The takeaway: this is a clinical business with a research pipeline, not a workshop alone.

Who is the founder behind the NIH grant?

Srivastava has a personal stake in the work that competitors cannot replicate. At age 10, after a tragic accident in India, he underwent an above-knee amputation of his left leg. "Learning to navigate life as an amputee brought physical and emotional challenges, but that experience ultimately became the foundation of my life's work: helping others regain mobility, confidence and independence," he said.

He came to the United States to pursue that work and has now called Nebraska home for nearly 30 years, rooted in the Hastings community. He and his wife, Anchala, have three children — sons Rishav and Abhinav and daughter Shreya. Few customers likely realize the man fitting their limb is an amputee himself; he also sings and listens to country music, he notes.

What does the business actually include?

Two companies, not one. Beyond Innovative Prosthetics & Orthotics, Srivastava runs SHABRI, a 3D manufacturing company exploring new ways to serve people facing limb loss, mobility challenges and disabilities. If money were no object, he said, his next company would make advanced prosthetic and orthotic care affordable and accessible worldwide — "with Nebraska at the center of 3D-printing innovation."

The commercial logic is plain: 3D printing could cut fabrication costs in a field where custom devices remain expensive. Srivastava did not, however, offer revenue figures, patient counts or grant amounts — the financial scale of both companies stays undisclosed. What is clear is the geographic bet: a founder nearly three decades in Nebraska wants the state to anchor the manufacturing method.

What drives the founder?

Purpose, by his own account, predates the business. "Since I was about 10 years old, I've wanted to make life better for others," Srivastava said. "Coming to America was part of that dream: an opportunity to write my own story and build something meaningful." He describes the work as deeply personal — "helping someone walk again or hold their child."

His advice to his younger self is blunt about early mistakes: build professional relationships earlier, and don't assume you have to do everything yourself. He still applies a daily discipline today: "Take one meaningful, actionable step every day. Progress comes from consistently doing the work." On tools, he uses ChatGPT for creative tasks and trip planning, and Claude for business research.

What does he want from Nebraska?

Srivastava's ask of the local community is talent, not capital. Advancing prosthetic technology, he said, takes "clinicians, researchers, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs and the people who use these devices." He specifically wants more young people introduced to prosthetics and biomechanics, arguing their curiosity deserves mentorship and real problems to solve.

The gap in his pitch: no named funding round, no disclosed NIH grant amount, no timeline for the infection-reducing liner's commercialization. The NIH-backed liner and SHABRI's 3D manufacturing together signal where Srivastava intends to compete next — on technology, backed by federal research money, from a base of three Nebraska offices.