Helping older adults recover their mobility poses unique challenges. Gravitrex, an AgeTech Collaborative™ startup participant, is developing a walking-assist device that makes walking rehabilitation safer and easier for both the patient and the provider administering care. Using its patented technology in a simple-to-use, mechanical device that takes weight off the user’s legs, Gravitrex aims to help the millions of Americans with a mobility challenge get moving again.
We spoke with Kira Burns, CEO and co-founder of Gravitrex, about the company’s groundbreaking technology, the advantages of co-creating with end users and artificial intelligence (AI), and what’s on the horizon for the company.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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What is Gravitrex all about?
We are creating a totally new type of walking-assist device that will be scalable across most post-acute care settings, in order to make it more likely that someone who loses their mobility is able to regain it.
Today, when somebody has an accident or injury and loses their ability to walk — particularly older adults — they typically go to physical therapy to regain mobility. But even in those settings, many people won’t have access to specialized devices, and even then most people don’t get in the number of steps that they really need to. Our device will change that. The first version of our device will be an in-clinic version, but eventually we’re going to be in people’s homes so they can get the care that they need where they really need it: at home.
Can you describe the device?
It’s a piece of advanced rehabilitation equipment that leverages patented technology that actually supports part of a person’s body weight, and it does that without a battery or a motor — it’s completely mechanical. You clip into a harness that goes over your clothes. We’re working to make it so that you can put this on in just a few minutes so that it’s fast and easy for physical therapists to use with their patients, which is a real differentiator for us.
By contrast, other devices on the market today are complex, overhead harness systems that are attached to something fixed, like a ceiling track, and most of them use a motor to achieve the constant lifting force that you need. But we have a mechanical engineering innovation that allows us to generate that constant lifting force on the cables with a completely mechanical system. That’s what allows us to streamline the device and put it on a smaller frame so that people can get in their steps safely and easily in order to learn how to walk again.
It seems like a surprisingly simple idea. Why hasn’t anyone come up with this before?
People have been trying for years! If you read the patent literature, you won’t believe the types of outlandish contraptions people have come up with to develop a system like ours that does not need a motor. Some have all these pulleys and weights hanging off large frames that people would need to walk around with. But those technologies don’t meet the real needs of the customer. Physical therapists, and ultimately the end user, need something that is easy to use and integrates into their clinical workflow. The technology that we’ve patented overcomes that challenge and meets that need.
Is it meant strictly for rehabilitation, or could someone use this as their everyday mobility-assist device?
Right now, we’re focused on recovery and rehabilitation, which the device does by making it easier and safer for them to walk. When we talk to physical therapists, they always say people aren’t getting the number of steps or the intensity that they need. Our device takes up to 100 pounds of weight off the patient’s feet, allowing them to start walking again.
There are a number of reasons why someone might lose their ability to walk, from orthopedic issues to neurological conditions to general aging and becoming frail. In the case of a neurological condition, for example, there’s a component of neuroplasticity — a rewiring of the brain — that’s necessary to relearn walking. Sometimes therapists will actually use their hands to move a patient’s legs in order to start generating that neuroplasticity in the patient’s brain. So by taking the weight off, our device makes it easier for the therapist to do that and get the patient the neuroplasticity they need.
All that said, we have been discussing potential applications in individual assistive devices that someone could use on a more regular basis, especially with people who have chronic conditions. But that’s down the road.
What’s one of the biggest hurdles you’ve had to overcome, and how did you do it?
From a business perspective, one of our biggest challenges is getting the clinical integration right. We see a lot of great products in the rehabilitation and healthcare space that have been validated with good clinical data, but they just don’t get adopted — usually because they don’t match the users’ need for a smooth workflow. In our case, those users are physical therapists, so it’s important for us to get involved at a very detailed operational level to support them: “Okay, now you’re going to move the device here, and you’re going to touch this button. Have you identified where you’re going to store it? Who’s going to do this other task?” Getting all that right is critical to our success.
One way we’ve overcome this hurdle is by talking to lots of physical therapists and incorporating them into our iterative design process. AI tools have also been really helpful. For example, as we’re designing our beta version, we can make design changes, and AI can quickly generate a new image with those changes incorporated. We can then share that with the physical therapists who work with us and ask, “What do you think of this change?” Including the therapists into our process and using the AI tools help us have confidence that we’re not making any big mistakes, all before we even build an actual beta prototype.
What’s up next for Gravitrex?
We’ve just built our first beta prototype and are seeing incredible excitement from administrators and clinicians across inpatient, skilled nursing, and outpatient rehabilitation settings. Next, we’re planning pilots with select facilities to gather user feedback and refine as we prepare for commercial launch. We’re already building a waitlist for demos — sign up on our website to be among the first to feel what it’s like to walk with Gravitrex.
Want to learn more or connect with startups like Gravitrex? If you’re already in the AgeTech Collaborative, log in to explore the ATC Directory and start a conversation. If not, apply to join us today and tap into the power of purpose-driven innovation in AgeTech.
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