Two developers of technologies for people recovering from strokes have agreed to join hands, netting new funding in the process.
Kandu Health will absorb Neurolutions with the goal of combining the former’s digital, post-discharge support platforms with the latter’s FDA-cleared brain-controlled hardware to help improve a patient’s motor function in a disabled arm.
The revamped Kandu will move forward with $30 million in new financing, through a round co-led by Ally Bridge Group and Amed Ventures, plus backing from the companies’ previous investors, according to the company’s announcement.
“We are excited to bring together Neurolutions’ medical device expertise with the AI-supported digital health solutions of Kandu Health,” said Neurolutions chief Leo Petrossian, who will lead the new Kandu as CEO. “This merger positions Kandu, Inc. as a leader in the stroke recovery space and allows us to offer a seamless continuum of care, from the immediate post-acute phase through chronic rehabilitation and recovery.”
Neurolutions was founded in 2007 and received an FDA green light for its IpsiHand wireless hand brace in 2021. Using an EEG headset, the system’s noninvasive brain-computer interface reads neural activity in areas of the brain unaffected by stroke and translates it into commands to the motorized brace. After weeks of training, users showed they were able to relearn how to grasp objects.
Kandu Health, meanwhile, was spun out of stroke intervention developer Imperative Care in 2023. Its platform aims to connect stroke survivors with healthcare professionals and caregivers, with an eye on reducing subsequent injuries and aiding independent living.
“IpsiHand is the first BCI technology cleared by the FDA for stroke rehabilitation and the first to receive a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement code. Kandu Health has demonstrated dramatically lower rates of hospital readmission and significantly improved functional outcomes in patients recovering from stroke in the home setting,” said Kandu Health CEO Kirsten Carroll, who will serve as general manager of the new Kandu. “Together, we will continue to break barriers and deliver transformative solutions for stroke recovery.”