Jabil partners with med-tech startup on devices for back pain, calf muscles
Contract electronics giant Jabil has partnered with an Indiana-based med-tech startup to launch a mobile therapeutic compression device that aims to help relieve pain and improve circulation.
The device, developed by Recovery Force, is set to hit the market mid-2019 as Jabil (NYSE: JBL) continues to work on the technology and manufacture similar products.
The initial product is a back wrap that uses woven nitinol fibers embedded in textiles that have the ability to change shape, delivering sequencing compressions that increase circulation in the body’s cardiovascular and lymphatic systems.
“It stimulates the muscles in the lower back and increases circulation,” said David Anthus, senior director of technology and consumer health for Nypro, a Jabil company. “If you’re exercising or you want to recover from some other activity that would put a type of strain on your back, this will help to relieve the pain.”
The technology is mobile, a game changer for anyone suffering from lower back pain, as other medical devices that work to increase circulation are typically attached to patients’ beds or wall-mounted units. “It’s basically like wearing a belt and you get to go about your day,” Anthus said.
Recovery Force teamed up with Jabil to bring the product to fruition after a search for a manufacturer that could combine electronics with textiles and had the capacity to easily advance the product from prototype to production.
A similar product created by Recovery Force and manufactured by Jabil that targets the calf muscles is slated to hit the market by the end of next year. In addition, work is continuing to develop devices that will treat upper-body extremities and footwear products that can assist diabetics and treat plantar fasciitis — inflammation of a thick band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes.
“This is a technology and a platform that basically has a life in products beyond the back and calf,” Anthus said. “It essentially can go on to address a lot of different areas in pain relief and circulation.”
Jabil, based in St. Petersburg, is one of the world’s largest manufacturing solutions provider operating in about 45 million square feet of space, in about 100 locations in 29 countries. The company finished fiscal 2018 with about $22 billion in revenue and expects to bring in about $24.5 billion for fiscal 2019. Jabil announced in September that it had entered into a strategic collaboration with Johnson & Johnson.
