Better Walk develops the Better Walk Crutch, a medical device designed to remove force from the user's underarm and distribute it along the body as an alternative to traditional underarm or forearm crutches. The company was founded in May 2013 by three Georgia Tech biomedical engineering students and has focused on product development since inception. Better Walk participated in the 2013 Zero To 510 medical device accelerator and has presented at events including the White House, Georgia Bio Shark Tank 2013, SEMDA 2014, and AAOS 2014. The company closed a $450,000 Series A round, its third financing to date, bringing total funding to $600,000. Management said the funding will be used to continue manufacturing and distributing the Better Walk Crutch, and the company is gearing up for a planned launch this spring. Better Walk is based in Atlanta. Better Walk, launched by students at Georgia Tech, is developing ergonomically designed crutches produced with 3D printing. Its core product features an angled hand grip with an attached holster and a side contact piece intended to eliminate underarm weight and reduce wrist/forearm strain. The use of 3D printing allows rapid iteration based on feedback from orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists, shortening prototyping time and costs. The company has showcased at the White House Maker Faire and the Southeastern Medical Device Association conference, participated in the Zero to 510 accelerator, and reports six orthopedic surgeons have signed letters of intent to purchase. Better Walk has raised $150,000 in seed funding and is finishing product development while targeting orthopedic clinics first for adoption. Management says it will focus on ramping sales to fund additional product introductions and has discussed strategic co-branding with distributors or hospital groups; CEO Partha Unnava has described the aim as becoming “the Nike brand of crutches.”

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Feb 2015