OrthoFit, a student startup company focused on smart wearables and software to prevent workplace injuries, is using a recent round of funding to complete prototype smart gloves to be tested in industry settings this fall.
The startup received a $25,000 Proof of Concept Grant from the CenterState Corporations for Economic Opportunity as well as $15,000 from a private investor. The funding will be used to produce 30 functional smart gloves embedded with sensors that can monitor hand and wrist motions for the purpose of preventing musculoskeletal injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
The gloves will be tested in work environments for the first time this fall, beginning with the Cornell Library’s Technical Services Office and at a biomedical products manufacturer. OrthoFit is also preparing for a pilot program in which the gloves will be used by a major meat processing company.
“We submitted a provisional patent and are preparing for a full one this fall. We’ve also been invited to speak at the Applied Ergonomics Conference in March,” said Jason Guss, OrthoFit CEO and a biomedical engineering doctoral student. “The next thing for us will be to begin raising another round of funding for our next stage of growth.”
The OrthoFit team of engineering, computer science and business students has advanced its startup by leveraging several Cornell programs, including the Rev 2016 Hardware Accelerator and eLab.