UK firm awarded £500,000 grant to develop technology for stroke survivors with upper limb weakness
A British technology company has received £500,000 in funding to further develop a neurorehabilitation platform that combines electrical stimulation with virtual reality.
Valkyrie Industries was awarded the grant through the Biomedical Catalyst 2024 competition by Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The funding will support the continued development of v-health, Valkyrie’s platform designed for neuromuscular rehabilitation using functional electrical stimulation (FES) and extended reality (XR). The project is backed by King’s College London, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Globally, one in four people are expected to experience a stroke in their lifetime, and around 60 per cent of those affected are left with upper limb weakness. Despite clinical recommendations, patients often receive just 8 minutes of daily upper limb therapy—far below the advised amount—frequently resulting in long-term impairment.
v-health pairs virtual task-based games with Valkyrie’s patented FES wearables. The combination of immersive XR and neuromuscular stimulation is intended to encourage repetitive movement, assist motor relearning, and support patient engagement.
With the support of this grant, Valkyrie Industries will carry out clinical validation of v-health, with the goal of delivering accessible and measurable upper limb training for stroke survivors to help them regain function and independence.
Ivan Isakov, chief technology officer and co-founder at Valkyrie Industries, said: “This grant marks a pivotal step in validating and scaling our technology for clinical use. We’re co-designing v-health with leading researchers and clinicians to ensure it improves patients’ lives.”
The project brings together contributions from technology developers, researchers, and healthcare providers. King’s College London researchers, including members of the Rehabilitation & Health Research Group and the Neural Control of Human Movement Group, will contribute expertise in movement science and digital rehabilitation. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is supporting implementation in clinical environments.
Key investigators include Dr Ulrike Hammerbeck, lecturer in neural control of movement, whose work focuses on clinical neuroscience and digital approaches to motor recovery, and Dr Marco Davare, reader in physiotherapy, who studies the interface of movement neurophysiology and cognitive neuroscience in rehabilitation.
Clinical implementation will be led by Dr Gareth D. Jones, consultant physiotherapist and clinical lead at GSTT, who has over 15 years of experience in stroke rehabilitation and research.
The study will enrol 70 stroke survivors. Participants with wrist weakness across varying stages of stroke recovery will take part in motor learning exercises using the v-health system. The research aims to evaluate both the effectiveness and practical application of the platform in healthcare settings.
Valkyrie Industries was founded in 2017 to develop technologies integrating XR and FES for neuromuscular rehabilitation.
