THE ORIGIN SERIES: VIBRAINT
When the VIBRAINT team first came together, they were on a mission to improve the lives of those recovering from stroke and spinal cord injury. They had noticed that there was a gap left by the currently available neuro-technologies for motor function restoration.
Ilia Borishchev, CEO of VIBRAINT, recalls, “Many people would like to return to regular life after stroke or spinal cord injury – two of the leading causes of motor deficit – but only a lucky few are able to. These conditions are hard to treat because natural restoration of motor function requires the neural system to provide the initial momentum for the movement, which is nearly impossible when a patient is struck with paralysis. It leads to a gap in state-of-the art, which we want to fill, using modern neuro-technologies. We have found that we can do this through a brain computer interface that opens a new level of opportunities.”
With nearly 30 years of hi-tech entrepreneurial experience, Ilia founded VIBRAINT in 2016, and leads the company to this day, along with teammates like Professor Michael Lebedev and Dr. Igor Lavrov.
They have developed a brain-computer interface driven rehabilitation robotic device, VIBRAINT RehUp, to help stroke survivors in regaining motion. With a focus on access to care and ease of handling, it is affordable, simple-to-use, works for largely paralyzed upper limbs, and allows rehabilitation early – when it is the most effective – even at the patient’s home.
VIBRAINT joined H2i back in 2019 and worked with mentors to gain knowledge to further develop VIBRAINT RehUp. When reflecting on the most impactful aspect of H2i’s programming, Ilia shared that the insight gained from mentor and community connections has provided him with more knowledge than any book. “The direct and regular communication with mentors, advisors and peers, who did and do the same things as you, share similar problems and similar breakthroughs, has been the most valuable part of the H2i program. Your personal network is extended to the networks of all the people you connected with through H2i.”
The scaling-up of VIBRAINT did not come without challenges – the team admits that many mistakes have been made throughout this journey. Yet, they say that the persistence to continue and believe in what they do has paved a pathway of ongoing success.
We do not let the fails stop us; we believe persistence and hard work are the keys to success. On the other hand, if deep inside you do not believe in what you do – it is better to stop early.
Ilia Borishchev, CEO of VIBRAINT
VIBRAINT was recently named the Most Revolutionary Neurorehabilitation Device by Global Health & Pharma Magazine, which is the biggest accomplishment that the venture has received to date. Ilia believes that this was earned because of their ability to bring a much-needed technology to the market in a time when there was an evident gap.
Looking forward, VIBRAINT has big plans coming up as they prepare for regulatory approval of RehUp. “This stage seems to be the hardest and most important part of the project, and requires the team to acquire many skills that we had not used before. If everything goes to plan, there is a chance that RehUp will hit the market running in early 2024. However, we will have to raise enough funds to make this happen – an imminent challenge that will be faced prior to launching the product.”
H2i would like to congratulate VIBRAINT for their achievement as the Most Revolutionary Neurorehabilitation Device by Global Health & Pharma Magazine, and applaud them for an impressive journey to date! If you are interested in learning more about VIBRAINT, please visit their website vibraint.ai, or find them on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.