During our Arkathon 2021, an American nugget stood out: ARTICULATE LABS. The team supports a wearable device that amplifies muscle re-strengthening and re-education. The purpose is to accelerate physical rehabilitation and restore mobility through movement-synchronous electrical muscle stimulation. They are one of the winners of the 6th edition of the Arkathon Program!
A rich health innovation program
Arkathon Program is a unique concept where companies, from Switzerland and abroad, leading healthcare organizations and technological institutes, work closely together to co-develop health solutions, with the economic support of public regional funds.
This program is divided into three parts: the International Open Call, the on-site Bootcamp and the Immersion Program!
This is an exceptional opportunity for innovative health entrepreneurs to defend their project in front of high-quality experts and benefit from sound advice, support and quality feedback.
An american story impacting the Valais health ecosystem
“Our project centers on accelerating the process of re-strengthening and re-training atrophied muscle through movement-synchronous neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). NMES has been used to good effect in sports medicine and physical therapy but restricted to pre-programmed sequences when a patient remains stationary. Our thought is that aligning stimulation with muscle usage in everyday activity will make the treatment more effective in strengthening and re-educating muscle while also making the treatment more convenient, comfortable, and trackable. We believe we have accomplished just that with a form of NMES that integrates AI, motion-tracking hardware, and our own proprietary joint modelling system. This system will learn from and adapt to the user as they walk.”, explained Josh Rabinowitz, co-founder of Articulate Labs. A few weeks after their selection for the immersion program, the American team came to Valais to discover the health ecosystem. They were able to visit the Clinique romande de réadaptation and meet with the best experts to get first feedbacks and present the new prototype.
Today, two KneeStim devices are being tested prospectively by CRR and the Valais Hospital, before setting out a potential collaboration with a clinical usability test.
We will follow closely the evolution of this innovative project and the potential collaboration with the beating heart of the Valais healthcare ecosystem!