The company was founded in 2018. Junichi Ushiba, a professor in the Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, serves as its President.
Beyond Japan, the Device Is Adopted in Malaysia
A BMI is a technology that reads signals from the brain. Based on those signals, it is envisioned as a way to help people with physical disabilities express their intentions or move their bodies.
BMIs come in two types — invasive, in which a device is connected directly to the brain, and non-invasive, which is not — and what LIFESCAPES develops is the non-invasive type. A headset is placed on the scalp of a person whose brain has been partially damaged, by a stroke or a similar cause. It reads the signals and issues movement instructions to a motorized orthosis worn on the hand. When a signal such as “I want to move my finger” is generated, for example, the finger portion of the motorized orthosis moves.
A rehabilitation device and a functional-training device have already been released. According to the announcement about this funding round, LIFESCAPES has positioned the ASEAN and North American markets as priority areas. As for the former, PERKESO (Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial), the social security agency under Malaysia’s Ministry of Human Resources, has adopted the company’s device. This marks its first deployment outside Japan.
A New BMI Clinical Trial Is Also Planned
The investors in this round are centered on investment limited partnerships established by financial institutions and venture capital firms. Among operating companies outside the financial sector, an investment limited partnership tied to Paramount Bed, a Japanese bed manufacturer, took part.
The funds will be used for the following purposes:
- Full-scale launch of overseas expansion
- An investigator-initiated clinical trial of the therapeutic BMI designated a “Pioneering Medical Device”
- Next-generation business development
For (1), in addition to Malaysia mentioned above, the company plans to establish sales operations in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere within the current fiscal year. For (2), it plans to begin the clinical trial of the therapeutic BMI this summer.
