Four U of L MBA students placed third in the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition for the TheraBracelet, a device that improves hand movement for patients who have had a stroke or experience other nerve disorders by delivering low pressure signals into a person’s wrist.

Matt Raggard, Nick Phelps and Kacie Neutz first formed a company in May 2013, founding TheraBracelet through iBridge, a Google database of university research available for license. Two additional years of research have gone into the development of the device in the Hand Rehabilitation Lab at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee where Leah Enders, chief scientific oofficer, has worked to test over 60 patients across six different studies.

“TheraBracelet’s foundational intellectual property was developed by Dr. Na Jin Seo and Leah Enders. Our company has an exclusive option to license the technology from UWMRF,” said Kacie Neutz, chief operations officer. “When we found the technology, we contacted UWM-Milwaukee’s Office of Technology Transfer and were able to develop a relationship with them in order to secure the option.”

They have presented TheraBracelet at several competitions including the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston where they placed first and the Ivey Business Plan Competition in Ontario placing second.

They had to compete with teams from around the world to make it into the respected competitions.  They then competed with 16-40 teams for the grand prize, which typically involved money.

“Winning cash is king and it was difficult to do,” said Nick Phelps, chief financial officer. “We were never the sexiest technology and our science was doubted each time because it is a new concept, although it has held up in our lab tests. All we could do was put our head down and reach the next milestone – which we did.”

The team plans to use the money as funding for the business. Their next step involves more clinical testing at Frazier Rehab here in Louisville and the engineering of the final prototype. The final bracelet will be an all-in-one, battery powered, standalone bracelet intended for all day use and is expected to hit the market in 2016.

“We could not have gotten where we are without the help of our many advisors,” said Kacie Neutz.Lubna