Gainesville and Boca Raton, FL, Sept. 15, 2015 -- The Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research (the Institute) announced today that it has finalized a funding agreement with MYOLYN, a Gainesville-based company with technology licensed from the University of Florida. MYOLYN is applying recent advances in robotics, automation, and control theory to rehabilitation and therapy products for individuals with neurological disorders. The Institute supports new company creation based on publicly-funded research, and bridges early funding gaps for companies spinning out of Florida-based universities and research institutions.
There are 75 million people worldwide who are living with a neurological disorder that limits their mobility. This immobility makes exercise nearly impossible and invites many serious complications – muscle atrophy, spasms, pressure ulcers, osteoporosis, depression, and increased risk of heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. MYOLYN's products use a technique called functional electrical stimulation, or FES, to re-enable communication with paralyzed muscles. By placing electrode pads on the skin over target muscle groups, a small electrical current can be applied to directly stimulate the motor nerves causing the muscle to contract.
"We are incorporating this technology into four different products to improve the quality of life for people suffering from these disorders," said Alan Hamlet, PhD, MYOLYN co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. "If the intensity and timing of the stimulation is precisely coordinated, the muscles can be made to work together to produce a functional motion. MYOLYN's technology reactivates and controls muscles, allowing even someone who is completely paralyzed to use their muscles for functional activities."
"MYOLYN's rehabilitation technology is helping people with neurological disorders fighting to achieve ambitious health and athletic goals," said Jamie Grooms, Institute Chief Executive Officer. "The Institute is pleased to support the MYOLYN team as it advances the commercialization of this novel approach to helping individuals with these debilitating disorders, and looks forward to the company's continued success.
About the Institute
Formed by the Florida Legislature in 2007, the Florida Institute for the Commercialization of Public Research is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the technology licensing and commercialization offices of Florida's state universities and private research institutions to leverage a $2B+ research base and form investable companies that create clean jobs in new industries that are driving the global economy. Over 100 new company projects have been identified across the state, and the Institute deploys company building and funding programs to promising Florida startups. Forty-two companies have been funded since the program's inception.
About MYOLYN
MYOLYN is a medical technology company. MYOLYN's co-founders, Chief Executive Officer Alan Hamlet, PhD, and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Bellman, were engineering PhD students at the University of Florida. Dr. Hamlet has industry experience leading teams in the design and construction of space flight critical mechanical systems for SpaceX and academic experience researching autonomous ground vehicles. Mr. Bellman has over five years of experience researching the control of human muscle using FES and is writing his PhD dissertation on FES-cycling technologies. MYOLYN also possesses an active and talented Board of Advisors. Bob Worrell is the Founder and President of Worrell Design Inc., a world-renowned product development company with extensive experience developing medical devices and obtaining FDA clearance. Denise Mason is a marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience marketing consumer and healthcare products.