Neurofenix, the UK-founded neurological rehabilitation platform, has secured $7 million in Series A funding led by AlbionVC, with participation from HTH, InHealth Ventures, and existing investors.
The latest investment will allow the London-based company to develop its product line and invest in US expansion, including funding US clinical trials.
Personalised rehab programme
Founded by Imperial graduates and Entrepreneur First alumni Guillem Singla Buxarrais and Dimitrios Athanasiou in 2016, Neurofenix aims to overhaul the current approach towards neuro-rehabilitation through its clinical-grade and personalised rehab programme.
Over 75% of neurologically injured patients face long-term disabilities and a lack of functionality due to insufficient neurorehabilitation. At the maximum, in-patients only receive a few hours of rehab a week, while at-home therapy programmes are unengaging.
Here’s where Neurofenix comes into play! Through the combination of sensor-based technology and a telemedicine platform, Neurofenix wants to improve the standard of care for neurological injury survivors and enable them to regain functionality and mobility.
NeuroBall device
The company’s rehab programme focuses on arm and hand therapy through its NeuroBall device.
Designed with input from over 300 therapists and patients, the device is personalised to each patient based on their current needs. The device also enables the patient to perform increasingly challenging, repetitive movements to help build up strength.
The advanced sensors detect the smallest of movements so impaired patients can use it, while the corresponding app has activities and digital games to engage patients to use it regularly. In addition, the real-time feedback means they can see their progress on leaderboards to help motivate them to continue.
The NeuroBall is supported by the Neurofenix Portal, a bespoke telemedicine platform. Patients can carry out their rehab exercises at home and record the results on the Portal, enabling remote patient monitoring.
Guillem Singla Buxarrais, CEO and Co-Founder of Neurofenix, says, “Over the last six years, we have been creating and developing our patient-centric sensor-based technology and platform to transform neuro-rehab. In clinical studies, NeuroBall was proven to motivate patients to do hundreds of movement repetitions independently at home, which led to significant improvements in the range of motion, reduction of arm pain, and return to daily activities using their arms and hand after a stroke. This has proven transformative to neuro-rehab as previously, patients would not have access to in-person physical or occupational therapy due to insurance, financial, transportation, and health barriers. We’re excited to partner with AlbionVC, HTH, and InHealth Ventures. We are hugely grateful for their support to scale the unique neurological therapeutics platform that we believe will change the world of neuro-rehab.”
Dr. Charles Carignan, MD and Neurofenix board member, says, “Around 900,000 people in the US and UK experience a stroke every year, and most do not recover to their full potential physically due to the lack of access to intensive physical and occupational therapy. I was blown away by what NeuroBall could provide to aid a patient’s recovery, including the utility for the hand or arm, the sensors, software, and gamification. This is just the start of the Neurofenix journey as a sophisticated neuro-rehab program.”
Andrew Elder, Deputy Managing Partner at AlbionVC, comments, “Neurofenix is poised to revolutionize physical recoveries after a neurological injury, such as a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or spinal cord injury. Its digital therapeutics platform, which can be used in rehabilitation clinics and by an individual bringing clinical-grade treatment into the home, generates recovery of movement, strength, and activities of daily living faster and with better results. With my background as a neurosurgeon, I could see that Neurofenix is positioned to fill a major gap in the neuro-rehab industry.”
