GA Veterinary - Helping Wildlife Survive!

I am raising funds to help develop much needed unique medical devices to help Australia’s fragile Wildlife. Help me make this happen. 


 I’m Girius Antanaitis an industrial designer in Melbourne, Australia, I use my experience and skills in developing unique medical devices helping Australian birds, mammals, fish, marine animals and other wildlife, working alongside veterinarians, with organisations such as Zoos Victoria, Perth Zoo, Bonorong Wildlife Hospital, Sea World, Australian Wildlife Health Centre (Healesville Sanctuary) and others. 

Many medical devices that are in use with wildlife and animals in general, are made for humans. And so they tend to be too large, too small or not suitable for use, and in the worst case scenario can do more damage than good. 

     That is where I come in. 

I am the only specialist in Australia who dedicates my time, personal resources and expertise in developing specific medical devices that saves animals’ lives, assists veterinarians by making their job easier, and reduces the suffering of animals. This including implants, apparatus and surgical instruments for animals that may be endangered, have been hunted close to extinction, animals that are generally “not” cute and cuddly creatures, and therefore often overlooked or forgotten.

Image: I’m setting up a Koala for a dental procedure with my designed marsupial dental device

However, all of the design, engineering, development, prototyping, tooling and research for these  wildlife projects that I commit to, are self funded. This unfortunately limits my ability to help as much as I would like, due to the costs involved, and minimal funds that I can gather from finished projects and other sources. 

       SO I NEED YOUR HELP, to make these life saving projects happen. 

I have set out some goals and projects that I would like to complete with this fund raising program. Many of the projects listed below have been in development for some years now, many for the above listed hospitals, and some are new. But all are projects that are needed to help our furry and feathery friends live a pain-free and healthier life! 

Image: Working in my workshop manufacturing and polishing some veterinary surgical instruments


~ Micro Avian External Fixation Pins:
These unique orthopaedic threaded pins are to fix the broken wings and legs of medium to small birds (and small mammals). These externally fixated threaded pins will be I believe the smallest available in the world, with the sizes of 1mm, 0.8mm and a tiny 0.5mm. Thus, I will be able to help the tiniest birds, be it due to the bird being shot by hunters, hit by road vehicles or due to other trauma.

~ Micro Pin Vice:
This hand held pin vice will be designed specifically to insert the pins noted above, through the broken bird wing bones with precision and increased dexterity for the veterinarians that are using it. 

~ Micro Pin Case:
Since the micro threaded pins are sharp, and must be sterile to use, a case is necessary both to protect the pins and store them. This case will be developed to safely hold, and sterilise the pins so that they are ready for immediate emergency use.

~ Pin Holding Forceps:
Due to the miniature size of the pins, it is quite difficult for the veterinarians wearing gloves to handle such a small diameter with care and precisely guide it to where it must be placed. So forceps will be designed to assist with this.

Image: Prototypes of my orthopaedic threaded micro pins made in my workshop, and a fixed wing (using these prototypes) of a Cockatoo that was shot through the wing by hunters


~ Avian External Fixation Kit:
Included in the kit will be the three sizes of the Micro Threaded Pins and their case, the Pin Holding Forceps and Micro Pin Vice. The kit will allow all these medical devices to be transported and neatly stored in a sterile way so that it can be used by the vets with all of the main required instruments available in an instant.

~ Titanium Pin Joints:
In addition to the pins, there must be a lightweight, strong and re-usable method of attaching them together to fixate the small broken bird wings and bones. These joints will be based on other avian projects I have developed for the wildlife hospital I help with, with the addition of extra strength due to the material and a key to attach and adjust the joints securely. Ideally I would also like to develop a suitable case for both the joints, connecting rods and key. 

~ Micro Laryngoscope Set:
Laryngoscopes are used to insert breathing tubes and to inspect the mouth of animals. Most laryngoscopes are made for humans and are not suitable for animals, especially the smaller and beaked kind. I have already designed and prototyped a set of miniature laryngoscope blades that have huge benefit for small animals such as juvenile koalas, birds and other small animals. I intend to complete the development and testing of my set of blades that will have a wide range of use for wildlife veterinarians.

~ Other Projects:
There are many other surgical instrument projects, consumable medical devices and apparatus that wildlife veterinarians require, some targeted specifically to one animal and others to a broader range. Too many to list here. But, if this GoFundMe program develops in such a way as to give me the extra funding needed to develop these ideas, I will add them to the list with more detail and updates. 

Image: Tests of my prototype micro laryngoscope blades used on a juvenile koala, preparing her breathing tubes before a medical procedure


It may be interesting to hear about some of my past, and completed, unique projects. A couple vital developments of note include an implant that saved the life of a Sun Bear in Borneo, and a device that assists relieving pain and discomfort in wombats.

www.ga-veterinary.com

www.instagram.com/ga_veterinary

www.facebook.com/gamedicalveterinary


The Hitam Story

This story was truely sad, and I knew I had to pull out all my expertise and resources to assist. Early 2019 I received a phone call from the specialist veterinary team at the Orangutang Foundation International Australia. After being knocked back and rejected by large medical device companies, they were in a hurry trying to find someone who could develop and manufacture a pelvic implant for Sun Bear named Hitam, in Borneo.

She had lived practically all of her life in agony, not being able to go to the toilet without extreme pain due to her malformed pelvis. This was due to the fact that when she was born, she was stolen by poachers from her parents after they were shot, and sold as a household pet after having her teeth ground down flat as to make her “safe” as a pet. She was fed an inappropriate diet of milk and rice, which stunted her growth and lead to malformed bones that included her pelvis. The gap left between her pelvis was so small, that it was between 400 to 500% smaller then it should be. This in turn made it next to impossible for “waste” to pass through without extreme pain for most of her life. There were only two options to help her: to develop a unique, custom made, world first pelvic implant to help widen the cavity of her pelvis, or euthanasia and end her life. 

I took this on as a critical challenge, and I designed and produced the implant that saved her life. The whole development process, the prototypes, the final implant, the manufacturing, the tooling, the weeks of work to create the implant was fully funded by me. 

It paid off, she is alive and well, living with other sun bears now - without pain and as close as possible to a normal life. 

https://orangutanfoundation.org.au/operation-sun-bear-borneo/ 

Image: Hitam and the pelvic implant developed by me, and an X-Ray showing it implanted on her pelvis.


Australian Marsupial Dental Device

Working closely with the Australian Wildlife Health Centre at Healesville Sanctuary, I was shown the issues that wombats have with their rear teeth (molars). The teeth continue to grow, and if not worn down, the “spurs” on the molars impact the inner cheek and other soft tissue in their mouth. This causes them discomfort and pain. Getting into the region of a wombat’s mouth to effectively grind down the spurs growing off the teeth is next to impossible due to the tight space and thick muscular cheek.

I tasked myself to modify, develop and design a fixture that can assist the wildlife veterinarians to effectively perform this task. After many prototypes and testing I came up with a device that gave the vets superior access to the teeth and now they can give the absolute best treatment for wombats, and to other Australian mammals such as koalas that may need medical and dental intervention.

My device is now used throughout Australia, helping wildlife veterinarians better treat the animals they help to save. The years of development and prototyping of this device was completely funded by me. Including, recently donating one to the new Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. 

Image: A koala going through a serious dental procedure, with the removal of a severely infected tooth using my Marsupial Dental Device (And yes, he is asleep)


Since each project and medical device is unique and requires different levels of work, I will list generally where the funds will be allocated and for what purpose.

~ Finished Kits & Instrumentation:
My goal is to donate many of the completed kits and instruments that I develop directly to the organisations who need them the most. 

~ Tooling, Jigs & Machinery:
This will allow me to prototype and manufacture projects, and it will allow me to streamline specific methods of production, into cost effective and repeatable procedures that will allow me to produce batch quantities of required medical parts and instruments. It will also give me the ability to expand my range of assistance that I can give to veterinarians in terms of expanded capabilities for new devices, and faster and more efficient development.

~ Raw Materials:
Having the raw materials, including the medical grade metals required is quite costly. Having them on hand will let me produce in batch quantities and prototype when required.

~ Pre-fabricated Parts & Equipment:
Some projects, instruments and components require fabrication from third parties and other skilled manufacturers. This too, includes costly tooling and development. Having the ability to do this will provide me the opportunity to pre make components, that saves a lot of time, and to hold future stock.

~ Consumable Medical Device Development:
Some medical devices can only be used once - such as sterile scalpel blades and implantable devices. An example of a previous project of mine (which again, all the development costs were funded by me) was a suture kit that was specifically created to help implant a GPS tracker into the endangered grey-nurse shark. Generally, these types of devices require costly sets ups, expensive tooling dies, minimum runs and sterilisation processes - which in single or low volumes are cost prohibitive. And so often I can not afford to provide the unique devices requested of me. Having extra funds will allow me to create and provide consumable medical devices that are requested of me.


Although every dollar helps, there are other ways that can assist me in helping the animals and the vets that treat them. You could also:

Some regions can not use the GoFundMe payment system, so you can also donate to the campaign  via Paypal donate function at:

Donate at Paypal Click Here 

     ~ Share my cause on your Facebook, Instagram, via email or other social media. 

     ~ If you have access to printed or other digital media, share the work that I do on those platforms

     ~ Speak to your friends, perhaps they can assist too?

     ~ If you know of any veterinarians, share my story, website and instagram with them. Perhaps I can help them with custom made medical devices to improve the heath of their animals?

     ~ Although it would not be for my work specifically, donate to local wildlife hospitals

     ~ Follow me on Facebook and Instagram - you will see some of what I do

     ~ Perhaps there is a specific project, a new machine for my workshop, a new medical device you would like to fully sponsor me for? This would be greatly appreciated.

Image: A Whistling Kite, a Kookaburra and Cockatoo who have had their wings fixed using the prototype orthopaedic pins, links and parts 

Thank you for taking your time to read about me and what I do. And thanks for considering to help fund my projects and the animals that mean so much to me and our world. 

Image: My Spanador “Yuki” and I