Cadence Biomedical Announces $1M in Department of Defense Grants
Cadence Biomedical(TM) Announces $1M in Department of Defense Grants
New Funding to Help People with Disabilities Leave Wheelchairs Behind, Develop New Technology for Amputees
Seattle, WA – May 29th, 2013 – Cadence Biomedical, maker of the KickstartTM Walking System that helps people with neurological conditions retrain their abilities to walk and regain their lives, today announced $1M in new grants from the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Joint Warfighter Medical Research Program. The new grant funds will be used to develop a new product to help amputees, and add a walking progress tracker to Kickstart.
“More than two million Americans suffer from severe mobility impairments and are underserved by the technology that’s currently on the market,” said Brian Glaister, CEO of Cadence. “We are so pleased that the Department of Defense has chosen to continue to support our efforts to help people with disabilities walk again and rediscover the activities they used to love to do.”
The Kickstart Walking System is a comfortable, wearable device without batteries or electricity designed for individuals who have suffered a stroke, incomplete spinal cord injury or a number of other conditions. It has been available since September 2012, is prescribed by a physician and is custom fitted by an orthotist.
One grant will fund development of a progress tracker for Kickstart, which will help patients and their physical therapists develop customized therapy programs. A second grant will fund development of a new device that incorporates sensory feedback technology for amputees learning to walk again with prostheses.
“Neurological injuries such as stroke and spinal cord injury often result in severe weakness to the muscles of the leg that are crucial for mobility, as well as a loss of sensation, which is crucial for balance,” said Jim Lynskey, PT, Ph.D., Associate Professor at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona. Lynskey is an expert on physical therapy and neurological impairment and will serve as a clinical investigator on the new Cadence grants.
“Kickstart is quickly becoming an important rehabilitation tool, thanks to its unique ability to assist the hip flexors, the muscle group that lifts and swings the leg through to complete a step. By developing sensory feedback, outcome-tracking and sensory feedback technology, Cadence will be able to help more patients who may have given up any possibility to walk again, and help clinicians remotely monitor their progress to help tailor more effective training programs,” said Lynskey.
Patients and clinicians interested in learning more about Kickstart can contact the Cadence team by phone at (877) 484-7513 or via http://www.cadencebiomedical.com/contact/.
About Cadence Biomedical
Cadence Biomedical, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is a commercial-stage medical device company that is committed to helping people with neurological impairments retrain the ability to walk and regain their lives. Cadence develops and markets the Kickstart Walking System, first in a new class of orthotic devices which provides stability and movement assistance to weakened muscles without the use of powered mechanisms. For more information, please visit www.cadencebiomedical.com, www.twitter.com/cadencebio, and www.facebook.com/kickstartwalking.