RxFunction raises $7.5 million for its wearable sensory prosthesis

Medical wearable startup RxFunction (Eden Prairie, Minn.) announced today that it has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding as it prepares for market launch of its Walkasins wearable sensory prosthesis.

The round, which surpassed RxFunction’s initial $5 million funding goal, was led by Edina, Minn.–based Cedar Point Capital, a boutique investment banking firm.

The money will help RxFunding through FDA registration, funding the next clinical trial in the U.S., and building the organization so that it is ready for commercialization.

“This funding will support us as we enter the U.S. market and move the company into its next phase,” said RxFunction CEO Tom Morizio.

Walkasins have two components – a leg unit and a foot pad. The insoles measure the user’s foot pressure and give immediate gentle and tactile sensory cues so that they can control balance and stability, according to the company.

The wearable is meant to approve the physical ability and quality of life of people with peripheral neuropathy, a peripheral nervous system condition characterized by motor nerve damage, sensory nerve damage and autonomic nerve damage. About 20 million people in the U.S. suffer from some form of peripheral neuropathy, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Lars Oddsson co-invented and developed the patented technology while he was a research professor at Boston University’s Neuromuscular Research Center. He founded RxFunction with Dan Leach in 2010.

“At the time we were able to demonstrate the concept in a lab environment,” Oddsson says. “Today’s miniaturization of electronics, sensors, improved batteries and faster processors has allowed us to design and build a medical grade wearable device that can help patients on a daily basis.”