Cadence Biomedical CEO Brian Glaister certainly is having a good week. In addition to being recognized at the Technology Alliance’s annual luncheon on Wednesday, the Seattle entrepreneur also announced that his company’s Kickstart Walking System has received a $1 million grant from the Department of Defense.
Kickstart is an innovative device which helps those who’ve suffered from stroke or other brain or spinal injuries to learn how to walk. It does not use robotic components, instead relying on “natural spring tension to capture energy and provide walking assistance to users.”
With the new funding, Cadence plans to work on technologies that could help amputees learn how to walk using their prostheses.
Cadence’s Kickstart device has been on the market since last September. It is prescribed by a physician and custom fitted by an orthotist.
Founded in 2007, Cadence raised $1.1 million in funding last year in an oversubscribed round. Glaister — who pitched the concept at a past UW business plan competition — is a former Technology Commercialization Fellow with the University of Washington’s Center for Commercialization.
Here’s a report on Cadence from our media partner KING 5: