Devices & Diagnostics, Startups

Medical robotics firm treating upper extremity paralysis explores going public

Medical robotics firm Myomo announced Friday that it is taking advantage of new SEC provisions that allow early-stage companies to undertake mini-IPOs.

IPO initial public offering

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Myomo announced Friday that it is taking advantage of new SEC provisions that allow early-stage companies to raise capital without restricting it to only accredited investors

Through the Regulation A+ provision, which is an amendment to Regulation A, the Securities & Exchange Commission adopted rules that went into effect June 2015 allowing early-stage companies to raise a maximum of $50 million from the public. They are known as mini-IPOs and mark a pivotal moment given the agency accepted equity crowdfunding without asking for companies to provide equity to only accredited investors.

This paved the way for early-stage companies to have alternatives to venture capital or institutional investment of some kind.

Myomo has not ascertained the number of shares to be sold or the share price, according to a news release.

The has created the MyoPro product line using technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to treat patients with neuromuscular disorders. The MyoPro Myoelectric Upper Limb Orthosis device senses and monitors even weak muscle signals in the arm, and when a patient attempts to bend it, sensors in the brace are able to detect that weak muscle signal, and this activates the motor that helps to move the arm in the desired direction.

The technology doesn’t employ any kind of electrical stimulation.

The orthosis needs to be ordered by a physician and acts like a powered brace for a deformed or weakened arm allowing to gain some functionality back. The device is intended for people who have experienced stroke, peripheral nerve injury, spinal cord injury, ALS, and other conditions.

Here’s a video of the product works:

Photo: Flickr user Simon Cunningham

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