Doctor in operating room wearing a lead apron and holding his back in pain

OrthoVest™ transfers 100% of lead apron weight from your shoulders to your hips—ending the pain that comes with every procedure.

THE PROBLEM

The Epidemic No One Can Ignore

If you work in a lead apron, you know the pain. That deep ache in your shoulders. The stiff neck that won't loosen. The chronic back pain and accumulating spinal damage that will torment you for the rest of your life.

You're not alone—and you're not imagining it.

62% of cath lab technicians, 60% of nurses, and 44% of attending physicians report work-related musculoskeletal pain.

Why are nurses and techs hit hardest? Because unlike physicians who rotate in and out of the lab, staff don't have that option. You spend more hours each week in lead. You're performing physically demanding tasks—transferring patients, applying compression—all while wearing aprons that can weigh over 10 pounds.

A 2023 SCAI survey found over 60% of all cath lab workers reported orthopedic injuries from hours of lead apron use. Chronic pain from these injuries remains a leading cause of career limitations and early retirement.

This isn't whispered about in break rooms anymore. It's covered extensively on social media. Published in journals. Debated by administrators watching their most experienced staff leave—not to better offers, but to bodies that can't take another day.

The problem isn't the apron. It's gravity. And it's permanently deteriorating your body.

OrthoVest against a background of an operating room

THE COST

When your best people can’t work, revenue disappears

Over one-third of cath lab workers report that spine problems have caused them to miss work—which has an immediate financial impact on the facility. Even worse, 17% of interventional cardiologists now limit their time in the cath lab—meaning fewer procedures and longer patient wait times.

When talented professionals finally leave, replacement costs for physicians can exceed $1 million. Hospitals aren't just losing people. They're losing money and the ability to deliver care.

THE SOLUTION

An Exoskeleton for Your Spine

In 1952, Dick and Nena Kelty solved this problem for backpackers. They created the first padded hip belt that transferred crushing shoulder weight to the hips. Over seventy years later, every serious hiker knows this truth: carry weight on your shoulders and you're exhausted in miles. Transfer it to your hips, and you can hike all day.

OrthoVest applies this proven principle to lead aprons.

Worn underneath your existing lead apron, OrthoVest acts as an exoskeleton—shielding all the delicate structures of your neck and back from crushing weight. Every vertebra, every disc, every joint is protected. The weight transfers instead to the bones better equipped to bear it: your hips and femurs.

Your apron rests on OrthoVest™. Your spine is finally free.

✔ Works with any lead apron you already own ✔ 100% weight transfer from shoulders and spine to hips ✔ Full mobility maintained—bend, reach, and move naturally ✔ Quick on, quick off

Three healthcare workers wearing OrthoVests and smiling

WHO IT'S FOR

Built for the Professionals Who Need It Most

OrthoVest™ was designed for anyone who spends significant time under lead:

  • Interventional Cardiologists

  • Electrophysiologists

  • Interventional Radiologists

  • Vascular Surgeons

  • Cath Lab Technologists and Nurses

  • Fluoroscopy Suite Staff

  • Any Medical Professional Wearing Lead Protection

If you've felt the aches and pains induced by your apron, listen to your body—OrthoVest™ is for you.

Female healthcare worker with back pain
  • "I’ve been using the OrthoVest during interventional procedures and it has made a real difference for me. I have a history of lower back pain from sport related injuries, and wearing a traditional lead apron for long cases would cause a lot of pain. With the OrthoVest, the weight is better distributed to the hips instead of hanging on the shoulders and lower back."

    —Hector M. Caballero, MD

Post on X by physician praising OrthoVest

Orthovest™ on Social Media

Post on X by physician describing how to wear OrthoVest under two piece lead apron
Post on X by physician stating that he never does a pacemaker procedure without OrthoVest

WHY ORTHOVEST™

Patent-Protected Technology — U.S. Patent No. 11,202,479

6-Month Warranty — Covers defects in materials and workmanship

14-Day Return Policy — Unused products in original packaging

Created by Medical Device Veterans — Designed by people who lived the problem in cath labs nationwide

The Skeletal Risks of Persistent Lead Apron Use

STOP ACCEPTING PAIN AS PART OF THE JOB

You dedicated your career to helping others. OrthoVest™ helps you keep doing what you love—without the pain.

$350 | 20% discount on orders of 5 or more

See how the OrthoVest™ works