VibeTech Inc.
Location: Sheboygan
Innovation: Medical device that uses vibration to regrow and stimulate bone tissue
While Jeff Leismer was a student at Michigan Technological University he focused a large portion of his research on equipment designed and built to help astronauts upon their return to Earth.
Degeneration of astronauts’ bones while they are in outer space is an accelerated version of the same thing that happens during the aging process.
After his research took him to Florida State University, Leismer moved to Sheboygan and while working full-time at Kohler Company, he founded VibeTech Inc., a technology based medical device company that uses vibration technology to stimulate bone growth and improve muscle performance particularly in patients unable to utilize traditional therapy techniques.
“If bones and muscles aren’t being used, as is the case with astronauts in space, they become weak,” Leismer said. “Research has indicated that lowering the force of impact, or applying a vibration to the bone can help in the development of new bone tissue. If it could be used for astronauts it could be used for patients here on Earth as well.”
Currently, the VibeTech device is centered on applying customizable vibrations to the lower extremities of older adults with mobility impairments and those with elevated risks of experiencing fall-related injuries, Leismer said.
“Older adults suffer from bone degeneration just like astronauts,” he said. “The process is just accelerated in astronauts not subject to the force of gravity for long periods of time.”
The VibeTech device can be used on elderly patients, but is also useful for individuals who have sustained fractures, sprains or undergone joint replacement and orthopedic surgeries as well.
VibeTech’s patented technology is driven towards helping patients unable to use traditional therapeutic methods, Leismer said.
“Typically, you strengthen muscles and rebuild bone tissue by slowly applying additional force to the bone and muscle tissue,” he said. “In the case of a leg injury that means slowly applying more and more weight on the leg until the muscle and bone are both strong enough to sustain the weight of the full body again.”
Patients suffering from debilitating injuries that force them to stay in bed, usually in a horizontal state, aren’t able to go through that process until much later in recovery, Leismer said.
“The VibeTech device can be used by patients even while they rest,” he said. “We have full control over the intensity of the vibration and can assist in their rehabilitation even if the patient is bedridden or even unconscious.”
The technology focuses on stimulating the bone tissue, in conjunction with the muscle fibers, ligaments and other tissue, Leismer said. The use of vibration to stimulate growth is not an entirely new concept, he said. The design of the device, its ability to control frequency and amplitude of the vibration and the ability to do so on a patient in a horizontal position is what is revolutionary, he said.
“Basically, the technology replicates the natural process of stimulation that occurs when the bone and muscles are actually being used for walking or other strength-related activities,” Leismer said. “We apply the vibration that stimulates the internal surface of the bone and in turn initiates the rebuild process.”
According to Leismer, when bones and muscle aren’t being used, the body, in an effort to become more efficient, stops supplying those areas with the nutrients they need to have an optimized strength-to-weight ratio. The VibeTech technology provides the same stimulus without the additional force of gravity and a patient’s body weight, he said.
The company plans to commence clinical testing with a small group of skilled nursing facility residents in January, Leismer said.
“Our main goal is to gather enough data to show that this patent pending technology can restore lost physical function and boost bone metabolism,” he said. “Additional testing will provide us the data we need to fully commercialize the best product possible.”
Leismer is currently working with an advisory board of experts with experience in orthopedics, the medical technology industry, neuromuscular research, as well as experts in product development, marketing and start-up management. He has formed a partnership with the University Wisconsin-Stout, but also works with advisors all across the country.
“Virtual technology has made it a lot easier for me to attract the best of the best when it comes to industry expertise,” Leismer said. “I’m very fortunate to be working with this team of individuals.”
In 2010, VibeTech took first place at the Northeast Wisconsin Business Plan Competition and received a NIH Phase I Small Business Innovation and Research Grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s stimulus funds. The grant jumpstarted VibeTech’s business plan and the company recently began work on one of only two projects available through the National Institution on Aging.
“We are hoping in ten years this is the standard of care,” Leismer said. “It is really a revolutionary technology that has the potential to span into multiple facets of health care and rehabilitation therapy.”
