How a NASA spinoff landed in Wisconsin
SHEBOYGAN – Jeff Leismer was a graduate student at Michigan Tech University when he began developing a vibration-based system to combat bone loss in astronauts during prolonged trips in space.
Leismer’s work, which was partially funded by NASA, was based on existing research suggesting vibrations could stimulate bone growth by fooling the bones into thinking they were being worked hard.
What Leismer discovered was even bigger – the technology could also strengthen muscle.
“I knew right away I had to get a company built around this,” Leismer said.
More State of Opportunity
Nearly 15 years and three patents later, the now 37-year-old has brought the technology to market through his promising Sheboygan startup, VibeTech, and is now working to introduce it to hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes throughout the U.S.
Using technology based on Leismer’s initial discovery, VibeTech has begun manufacturing rehabilitation chairs that use vibration to simulate load-bearing exercises, which in turn strengthen bones and muscles.
It’s aimed at people with injuries, disabilities, chronic pain or other maladies that leave them unable to perform weight-bearing exercises needed to maintain or build back bone mass and strength.
And it works without any effort by the patient.
“I think it’s going to affect thousands and thousands of people,” said Ed Morgan, the company’s CFO. “It’s exciting. People will say, ‘I can’t believe this is in Sheboygan.’ It’s something you’d find in Silicon Valley.”
The chairs are currently in operation at a Kentucky hospital and at the Jewish Home and Care Center in Milwaukee, where Leismer said they’ve been used in over 1,500 treatments and have helped patients recovering from hip fractures, knee replacements and those suffering from Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and arthritis.
In the long run, the technology could be used in sports medicine and even space travel, where astronauts spend considerable time working out to combat bone loss that occurs without the force of gravity.
But for now, Leismer is focused on nursing homes, hospitals and physical therapy clinics, where he feels it would have the most meaningful impact.
“We want to get this product into the hands of people who don’t have any other options,” he said.
The product follows more than a decade of research and development, clinical trials and work to achieve FDA approval.
Leismer’s breakthrough moment came back at Michigan Tech, when he first tested the machine out on himself, with the device compressing and vibrating his leg for 10 minutes before he got to his feet.
“I just about fell over,” he said. “My first thought I had was, ‘Oh no, what did I do to my leg?’”
His next thought was to get a patent.
Since then, Leismer, who grew up just north of Detroit, has attended the University of Florida, where he worked with bone researchers to ensure his device was safe, while also earning his PhD.
He came to Sheboygan in 2007 to work at Kohler Co., while laying the groundwork for VibeTech on the side.
Leismer’s job at Kohler was eliminated during the recession, and after several university teaching stints, he got his break in 2010 when he received a $200,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health, which allowed him to work full time on launching his company.
The first commercial unit was built in late 2013, and the company now contracts with Alaark Tooling & Automation in Sheboygan to manufacture its rehab chairs.
VibeTech currently has five employees and could grow to about 15 in the coming years.
For now, the company is focused on raising capital, building up its inventory and getting the device in front of health care providers.
“It’s something where we just have to get the word out about what we’re doing,” Leismer said. “That’s the goal.”
There are currently vibrating platforms on the market using similar concepts. Most are used in athletic settings and have shown positive results.
But those machines require users to stand and perform exercises using their body weight, whereas Leismer claims his machines provide superior benefits with no effort, which has considerable appeal in the health care world.
“With low mobility patients in wheel chairs, there are few technologies available to them,” he said. “This is very quick and highly accessible.”
Down the road, the company will introduce new machines that track patient progress. Leismer has also developed a prototype for a home product using the same technology.
“It could make exercise unavoidable,” he said.
There’s also hope that someday NASA will use the product. It’s already been recognized in the federal agency’s annual “Spinoff” publication, which highlights technology developed through NASA-funded research.
“I feel very strongly that we have the only technology that’s capable of keeping an astronaut strong for the trip from Earth to Mars and back,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything else remotely close to being where we are.”
In the meantime, it’s Leismer’s industry to shape.
Reach USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin Reporter Josh Lintereur at 920-453-5147, jlintereur@gannett.com or on Twitter@joshlintereur.