MIRA Rehab Files IPO Prospectus: Gamifying Physical Therapy for Enhanced Patient Recovery
Jun 01, 2015 08:42
CST Updated
08:42
For patients, injury or surgery is already a painful experience, but what proves even more agonizing is the recovery process that follows. In particular, certain physical rehabilitation therapies require patients to repeatedly perform highly repetitive movements that cause significant pain, all in the interest of promoting healing. However, this process is often not only excruciating but also monotonous, leading many patients to struggle with adherence. As a result, treatment outcomes are frequently suboptimal, and the pace of recovery slows down. Moreover, each rehabilitation session comes at a considerable cost; when progress is sluggish, achieving full recovery can impose a heavy financial burden on patients. Furthermore, due to the complexity of rehabilitation therapy and the varying adaptability of individual patients, this poses a significant challenge not only for patients but also for the entire healthcare industry. With Mira, however, all these problems will become things of the past. Physical rehabilitation will not only become so easy, but also so fun!
Mira, short for Medical Interactive Recovery Assistant, is a clinical rehabilitation tool. As the flagship product of Mira Rehab, it is designed to provide patients with an engaging, convenient, and user-friendly approach to physical therapy. So, how does it achieve this?
Simply put, Mira is a software platform that transforms conventional physical therapy into medically recognized video games. The system converts existing therapeutic exercises into interactive gaming experiences and uses sensors to track and assess patient adherence, making the rehabilitation process easier and more enjoyable for patients, thereby accelerating recovery from injuries or surgeries. Mira currently utilizes Microsoft Kinect as its sensor, which can track users’ movements within a certain range without requiring additional operation, while also evaluating whether the movements are performed correctly and monitoring improvements in patients’ motor function over time.
From this perspective, Mira resembles other startups that leverage Microsoft Kinect to develop therapeutic solutions. However, Mira claims to offer a more comprehensive software suite on the provider side, including diagnostic and patient management applications. The diagnostic application is designed for patients to measure body angles and distances during physical therapy sessions. The patient management application is tailored for physicians and physical therapists, enabling them to store and record patient data and documents throughout the rehabilitation process. Based on this information, clinicians can adjust treatment plans and protocols accordingly. Mira’s games are designed to be motivating and are developed based on different pathologies to better accommodate and meet patients’ needs.
Key Advantages of the Product
For patients, the benefit of Mira lies in its ability to maintain high levels of motivation and engagement throughout the treatment process. All games used in Mira are based on best clinical practices and input from professional physical therapists, allowing patients to reach different levels while simultaneously completing rehabilitative exercises.
Moreover, Mira brings significant convenience to physicians. While patients engage with Mira’s games, the system tracks their activities and measures a range of parameters, such as movement speed, scores, and distance during specific exercises. This enables physicians to easily assess patients’ exercise performance and adjust treatment plans accordingly.
Product Functions and Effects
Game Design Based on Upper Arm Swinging:
Game-Based Exercises for Lower Limb Training to Prevent Falls:
Company Origins and Founding Team
MIRA Rehab is a company founded in 2012 and headquartered in London. The company’s CEO, Cosmin Mihaiu, is an avid gamer with a strong interest in the healthcare sector. In his home country of Romania, where the healthcare industry received relatively little attention, he and a group of creative peers conceived the idea of transforming tedious and mundane physical therapy exercises into games. This led to the establishment of MIRA Rehab, which aims to help patients recover more quickly through engaging, game-based therapeutic exercises. In addition to Cosmin Mihaiu, Andrei Dascalu, Andrei Cantea, and Alina Calin are co-founders of MIRA Rehab. Their goal is “to enable patients to recover in a faster, simpler, and more enjoyable way.” Cosmin Mihaiu emphasizes that they do not intend to replace physical therapists; rather, they aim to develop a new type of digital “medicine” to assist therapists in helping patients regain their health more effectively.
MIRA Rehab initially focused on developing exergames, particularly those designed for the elderly, to enhance their physical fitness and balance, reduce the risk of falls, promote independent living, and lower healthcare costs. The company is now advancing its Mira platform, which is poised to transform the entire healthcare industry. Currently, Mira is primarily designed for offline use in clinical settings; however, the company is developing an online version for home use, enabling users’ movement data to be transmitted directly to physical therapists.
Developed Game Products
Mira has been deployed in clinical settings in both Romania and the United Kingdom, with an annual subscription fee of several thousand dollars. Currently, Mira has released three games, all of which are internet-based desktop applications designed to provide therapeutic intervention in a simple, convenient, and engaging manner. These three games are:
1.PowerHouse Bid
The game requires users to bid on desired items by performing standing and sitting movements, thereby exercising the patients' "sit-to-stand" motor sequence.
2.Izzy the Bee
The game requires the user to squat or perform hip abduction movements to collect pollen and store it in the beehive.
3.In Atlantis
In this game, users control a submarine by performing hip abduction movements to collect artifacts on the seabed.
Honors Received
Ranked among the Top 50 Most Innovative Student-Run Enterprises Worldwide by the Kairos Society in 2013;
Recipient of the Healthbox 2013 Innovation Award;
Ranked 6th globally in the Microsoft Imagine Cup;
Partner Institutions
Research collaborators include the University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s Central Manchester University Hospitals, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust; commercial partners include Healthbox.
Financing Status
Healthbox has made four rounds of investments in the company, including the seed round on January 22, 2013, the angel round on March 1, 2014, a follow-on funding round on September 1, 2014, and the most recent investment on October 1, 2014; however, the specific investment amounts have not been disclosed.
(Editor: Zhang Nan)
To learn more about VCBeat’s “Series Report on the 30 Most Promising Healthcare Startups to Watch in 2015,” please click the link “Series Report: Master Index”
Mira, short for Medical Interactive Recovery Assistant, is a clinical rehabilitation tool. As the flagship product of Mira Rehab, it is designed to provide patients with an engaging, convenient, and user-friendly approach to physical therapy. So, how does it achieve this?
Simply put, Mira is a software platform that transforms conventional physical therapy into medically recognized video games. The system converts existing therapeutic exercises into interactive gaming experiences and uses sensors to track and assess patient adherence, making the rehabilitation process easier and more enjoyable for patients, thereby accelerating recovery from injuries or surgeries. Mira currently utilizes Microsoft Kinect as its sensor, which can track users’ movements within a certain range without requiring additional operation, while also evaluating whether the movements are performed correctly and monitoring improvements in patients’ motor function over time.
From this perspective, Mira resembles other startups that leverage Microsoft Kinect to develop therapeutic solutions. However, Mira claims to offer a more comprehensive software suite on the provider side, including diagnostic and patient management applications. The diagnostic application is designed for patients to measure body angles and distances during physical therapy sessions. The patient management application is tailored for physicians and physical therapists, enabling them to store and record patient data and documents throughout the rehabilitation process. Based on this information, clinicians can adjust treatment plans and protocols accordingly. Mira’s games are designed to be motivating and are developed based on different pathologies to better accommodate and meet patients’ needs.
Key Advantages of the Product
For patients, the benefit of Mira lies in its ability to maintain high levels of motivation and engagement throughout the treatment process. All games used in Mira are based on best clinical practices and input from professional physical therapists, allowing patients to reach different levels while simultaneously completing rehabilitative exercises.
Specifically, it offers the following advantages:
1. Exercise Games
Mira leverages customized video games to enhance patient engagement during physical therapy rehabilitation.
2. Progress Tracking
Mira can measure patients' recovery progress during rehabilitation therapy.
3. Included Tutorial
All exercise games come with detailed instructions, and their designs are extremely simple, making them easy for anyone to operate.
4. Suitable for home use
During the rehabilitation period, Mira can be used entirely at home.
Moreover, Mira brings significant convenience to physicians. While patients engage with Mira’s games, the system tracks their activities and measures a range of parameters, such as movement speed, scores, and distance during specific exercises. This enables physicians to easily assess patients’ exercise performance and adjust treatment plans accordingly.
Benefits for Physicians:
1. Customizable Treatment Plans
The application is fully customizable and primarily formulates treatment plans based on pathology and other patient-specific conditions.
2. Continuous Monitoring
Mira’s collected data can help physicians assess patients’ progress during rehabilitation therapy.
3. Enhance Patient Adherence
Exergames provide patients with additional motivation, encouraging them to complete physical therapy and enhancing their adherence to treatment.
4. Research Opportunities
All patient data and information required for research in this field will be collected and recorded by the Mira software.
Product Functions and Effects
Game Design Based on Upper Arm Swinging:
Game-Based Exercises for Lower Limb Training to Prevent Falls:
Company Origins and Founding Team
MIRA Rehab is a company founded in 2012 and headquartered in London. The company’s CEO, Cosmin Mihaiu, is an avid gamer with a strong interest in the healthcare sector. In his home country of Romania, where the healthcare industry received relatively little attention, he and a group of creative peers conceived the idea of transforming tedious and mundane physical therapy exercises into games. This led to the establishment of MIRA Rehab, which aims to help patients recover more quickly through engaging, game-based therapeutic exercises. In addition to Cosmin Mihaiu, Andrei Dascalu, Andrei Cantea, and Alina Calin are co-founders of MIRA Rehab. Their goal is “to enable patients to recover in a faster, simpler, and more enjoyable way.” Cosmin Mihaiu emphasizes that they do not intend to replace physical therapists; rather, they aim to develop a new type of digital “medicine” to assist therapists in helping patients regain their health more effectively.
MIRA Rehab initially focused on developing exergames, particularly those designed for the elderly, to enhance their physical fitness and balance, reduce the risk of falls, promote independent living, and lower healthcare costs. The company is now advancing its Mira platform, which is poised to transform the entire healthcare industry. Currently, Mira is primarily designed for offline use in clinical settings; however, the company is developing an online version for home use, enabling users’ movement data to be transmitted directly to physical therapists.
Developed Game Products
Mira has been deployed in clinical settings in both Romania and the United Kingdom, with an annual subscription fee of several thousand dollars. Currently, Mira has released three games, all of which are internet-based desktop applications designed to provide therapeutic intervention in a simple, convenient, and engaging manner. These three games are:
1.PowerHouse Bid
The game requires users to bid on desired items by performing standing and sitting movements, thereby exercising the patients' "sit-to-stand" motor sequence.
2.Izzy the Bee
The game requires the user to squat or perform hip abduction movements to collect pollen and store it in the beehive.
3.In Atlantis
In this game, users control a submarine by performing hip abduction movements to collect artifacts on the seabed.
Honors Received
Ranked among the Top 50 Most Innovative Student-Run Enterprises Worldwide by the Kairos Society in 2013;
Recipient of the Healthbox 2013 Innovation Award;
Ranked 6th globally in the Microsoft Imagine Cup;
Partner Institutions
Research collaborators include the University of Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s Central Manchester University Hospitals, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust; commercial partners include Healthbox.
Financing Status
Healthbox has made four rounds of investments in the company, including the seed round on January 22, 2013, the angel round on March 1, 2014, a follow-on funding round on September 1, 2014, and the most recent investment on October 1, 2014; however, the specific investment amounts have not been disclosed.
(Editor: Zhang Nan)
To learn more about VCBeat’s “Series Report on the 30 Most Promising Healthcare Startups to Watch in 2015,” please click the link “Series Report: Master Index”