Kandu Health and Neurolutions merge to form “new leader” in stroke recovery space

Kandu Health and Neurolutions announced yesterday that they have merged to form Kandu Inc—a company that “expects to set a new standard of care for stroke recovery” via a “first-in-kind”, end-to-end solution for stroke survivors that combines brain-computer interface (BCI) technology with personalised telehealth services.

As part of the merger, Kandu Inc completed the first close of a US$30 million financing round, which was co-led by Ally Bridge Group and AMED Ventures, with participation from other existing investors. Kandu Inc will use proceeds from the financing to support ongoing commercialisation and continued execution of its mission to enable stroke recovery that is accessible to patients and caregivers at home.

“We are excited to bring together Neurolutions’ medical device expertise with the AI [artificial intelligence]-supported digital health solutions of Kandu Health,” said Leo Petrossian, chief executive officer (CEO) of Neurolutions, who will lead the newly formed Kandu Inc as its CEO. “This merger positions Kandu Inc as a leader in the stroke recovery space and allows us to offer a seamless continuum of care, from the immediate post-acute phase through chronic rehabilitation and recovery. Kandu Inc is now able to offer a truly integrated care experience that aligns with the needs of stroke survivors, healthcare providers, and caregivers.”

Kandu Health was founded in 2022 and describes itself as a technology-enabled healthcare services company that is focused on stroke recovery, providing remote, multidisciplinary support to stroke survivors and care partners in outpatient settings through a team of licensed clinicians, and an easy-to-use app.

Neurolutions—founded in 2007—is an industry leader in the use of non-invasive BCI technology for post-stroke therapy, and the company claims that its IpsiHand system is the only non-invasive US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared breakthrough device that can accelerate motor recovery of the affected upper limb after chronic stroke.

A recent press release announcing the merger of these two entities details that, historically, post-acute stroke care has been “fragmented and short-term”. Stroke survivors and caregivers “often struggle with navigating the complex and disconnected healthcare system”, leading to high hospital readmission rates and ongoing health challenges, the release continues, also noting that—under current paradigms—28% of stroke survivors rate their quality of life as “poor or worse than death” a year after stroke.

Kandu Inc’s goal is to “bridge this gap” by providing stroke survivors with continuous, evolving support throughout their recovery.

“Despite years of improvements in stroke treatment technology and acute intervention, our system of care has not yet produced meaningful improvements in patients’ functional outcomes following hospital discharge,” said Demetrius Lopes (Advocate Aurora Health, Chicago, USA). “Kandu offers a new approach to post-acute care that I believe will continue to improve functional outcomes for stroke survivors.”