Spinal Reflex Conditioning

Client: Diane Borghoff and Robert Gallo, Health Research Incorporated (HRI) and Dr. Jonathan Wolpaw, National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies (NCAN), New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center

Dr. Jonathan R. Wolpaw is internationally known for his 35-years of cutting-edge research in spinal cord plasticity, the nervous system’s ability to rewire itself.  He and his collaborator, Dr. Aiko Thompson at the Medical University of South Carolina, have developed Spinal Reflex Conditioning, a training device and program to help people with neurological disorders gain long-term improvements in neuromotor control of functions like walking.    

But transforming Spinal Reflex Conditioning from a rehabilitation research device into a clinically available treatment is a complex undertaking. Diane Borghoff and Robert Gallo from HRI turned to TREAT for guidance with the unique challenges they faced in commercializing a product developed out of NCAN’s groundbreaking research discoveries.

TREAT provided a strategic assessment to the HRI and NCAN team and, first, encouraged them to talk to potential users of the Spinal Reflex Conditioning system to find out what information these users would require before they were willing to purchase and use a product that delivers this therapy.  The team thus discovered the issues critical to the future adoption and success of the technology; these could then be addressed with forethought and strategy.

Helping innovators identify these unforeseen commercial hurdles well in advance, and then plan for them, is a large part of TREAT’s work. The HRI and NCAN team now understands what their target users need. They are designing studies that will provide the data that physical and occupational therapists described as important to them in making the decision to incorporate the reflex-conditioning device in their clinics. Importantly, these studies will include commercially meaningful endpoints.

Click here for an expanded account of TREAT’s engagement with HRI and the Wadsworth Center.