Date: May 30, 2013 Author: Katherine Grayson Source: bizjournals (
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A Twin Cities startup that has developed a high-tech shoe insert called the Walkasin has landed a $1 million federal grant that it will use to conduct clinical trials.
Lars Oddsson, director of the Sister Kenny Research Center, developed the technology behind the Walkasin, which can detect whether a person is about to lose his or her balance and fall. The insert connects to a cuff that wraps around patients' legs and vibrates when they sway too much in one direction, or show another sign of losing balance.
Oddsson's company, RxFunction, has been waiting on word of the Small Business Innovation Research grant for months. It was delayed by both the fiscal cliff and the sequester, Oddsson said.
The company will now use the funds to test how well the device works with stroke survivors. Oddsson is hoping to prove the device helps reduce the risk of falls. That could make the product appealing to hospitals that want to reduce the risk of patients falling inside their facilities and reduce hospital re-admissions caused by people falling at home.
RxFunction has built prototypes of the Walkasin and is in talks with manufacturers about producing a finalized version of the device. The company expects to seek regulatory approval for the product in Europe before pursing U.S. sales.
As for the Walkasin name, Oddsson said the company came up with it after conducting some market research discovering that not everyone liked it, but most people remembered it.
