Jeremiah Robison’s Building a Better Future for His Daughter
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Jeremiah Robison is a Dad; a Dad who knew there had to be a better way for his daughter, Sofia, to live and play comfortably after her diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Jeremiah Robison is making science fiction reality with Cionic’s Neural Sleeve. This legging-like sleeve is designed to fit comfortably under or over clothes and provides full assistance to the four major muscles in the leg. Their unique “read and write” neural interface is able to understand the messages the brain sends to the muscles and then in real time, using AI, write personalised algorithms to deliver electrical stimulation to the move the muscles. The Cionic Neural Sleeve is the only system to combine sensing and stimulation of the entire leg into a single, wearable system (with an 8 hour battery life). Which begs the question, why hasn’t this been thought of before?
Jeremiah’s background made him the perfect guy to bring this technology to life. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle he notes, “I’d spent most of my career at the intersection of data and the human body. I had enough knowledge and a huge motivation to say, ‘Since nothing is available for my daughter, if not me, who?‘” Jeremiah previously worked for big names like Apple on handwriting recognition, and wearables for Jawbone, and the first web browser for mobile phones at Openwave. After Sofia’s diagnosis he got to work building the first Cionic prototype from a pair of Sofia’s tights.
The design inspiration for the sleeve came from Sofia’s two pronged physical therapy. The first was FES (functional electrical stimulation) therapy. In FES, the patient has electrodes placed all along their legs connected by long, clumsy wires to a device controlled by a therapist that uses electrical stimulation to move the muscles. The second form of therapy was a movement lab that tracked Sofia’s gait to analyse and help her walk in a straight line. Jeremiah wondered what it could look like if those two therapies were be combined into one wearable garment.
Sofia wearing the Neural Sleeve in their home
Fast forward to 2022, Cionic was approved by the FDA as a medical device manufacturer, and today you can join the waitlist to purchase one of their sleeves. The other cool thing about Cionic is that the sleeve is controlled via their app which allows the patient to easily customise and manage their treatment. In addition to tracking their progress and sharing data with their healthcare providers. It’s the full package.
I’m writing this article because, yes, I think this product deserves recognition, but I’m mostly writing it because this product is changing people’s lives for the better. Just see for yourself:
“An unparalleled sense of freedom.”
“I do not have the words to properly explain the positive effects on my confidence and outlook.”
“I felt energised and hopeful.”
The Cionic Neural Sleeve is giving patients something they didn’t even dream possible. Think about the amount of people this product could help. Today, about 764,000 people have Cerebral Palsy, and about 500,000 of that are children under age of 18. Not to mention older patients with other mobility issues like Osteoperosis, arthritis, even people suffering from M.S could benefit from this product. I’ll certainly be watching Cionic as they continue to innovate and release products.
If you’re looking for ways to support the Robisons’ or Cionic in general, follow them on Twitter. You can also follow Jacquie’s, Jeremiah’s wife, non-profit on Instagram, which supports children with neuromuscular delays.
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