Our Story
CIONIC was founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Jeremiah Robison, who believed that there must be better options for his daughter's cerebral palsy diagnosis than crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs.
He knew from a 20 year career driving innovation at companies like Apple, Openwave, Slide, and Jawbone that advances in sensing, machine learning, and materials presented an opportunity to design nuanced assistive systems that adapt elegantly to individual mobility needs.
Our first product is inspired by two clinical experiences in his daughter's journey:
At eight years old, doctors prescribed a movement analysis to better understand how her body moved during stepping. A data capture session was scheduled at a gait lab, and after an hour of setup with optical markers and EMG sensors, she walked in a controlled straight line and a one-page report was generated.
When she was nine, functional electrical stimulation was introduced as part of her physical therapy. The therapist would carefully place electrode pads on individual muscle groups and then follow behind while his daughter walked tethered with long leads pressing a left and a right button.
Bold
We continuously challenge the expectations of human capabilities, pushing for a world beyond disability.
Rigorous
We do so with great scientific rigor, ensuring that we can consistently reproduce meaningful outcomes.
Collaborative
This challenge is bigger than one company, and it will take strong collaborations to enable a community of solutions.
Grateful
We are grateful to our users for entrusting us with their hope, and we will stop at nothing to see it fulfilled.
Charles Adler, M.D., Ph.D.
Charles Adler, M.D., Ph.D. is a world-renowned expert on Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders with the Mayo Clinic. His research is focused on identifying the causes and improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease, dementia, essential tremor, dystonia, and other movement disorders. This research includes his role as co-leader of the Arizona Study of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders.
Richard Zorowitz M.D.
Richard Zorowitz, M.D. has a clinical focus on the rehabilitation of stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine, and Brain Injury Medicine. He was previously a member of the Board of Directors for the National Stroke Association.
Alberto Botler Ph.D.
Alberto Botter, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Polytechnic University of Turin in Italy, and head of its Laboratory for Engineering of the Neuromuscular System. He has been a scientific collaborator of CIONIC for two years, and co-author of its peer-reviewed scientific publications. Dr. Botter’s research focuses on neuromuscular electrical stimulation, surface electromyography, electrode technology, and signal processing applied to biomedical signals.
Kara Flavin M.D.
Kara Flavin, M.D. is a board-certified physiatrist with subspecialty board certifications in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine and Brain Injury Medicine. As a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University, she collaborated closely with engineers to develop novel rehabilitation devices for stroke patients. She was also an attending physician at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, managing the rehabilitation and medical care for acute and chronic spinal cord injured veterans.
Carrolee Barlow, M.D., Ph.D.
Carrolee Barlow, M.D., Ph.D. is Chief Medical Officer of ESCAPE Bio, a clinical-stage biotech company developing precision medicine therapies for genetic forms of neurodegenerative disease. Prior to ESCAPE Bio, Dr. Barlow served as CEO of the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, an independent clinical care and research center for Parkinson's and related disorders. Dr. Barlow was also acting Chief Medical Officer at Amicus Therapeutics. She also held a faculty position in genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and served as the Director of Molecular Neuroscience and Worldwide Therapeutic Area Head for Stroke and Neurodegeneration at Merck Research Laboratories.
Enrique Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D.
Enrique Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D. serves as an Associate Professor and Assistant Medical Director of Neurology, actively driving advancements in neurological care. As a member of esteemed organizations including the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the Society for Neuroscience (SFN), Dr. Alvarez practices at the UCHealth Neurosciences Center and UCHealth Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion. Since achieving board certification in Neurology in 2012, he has specialized in neuroimmunology, with a particular emphasis on conditions like Multiple Sclerosis. Dr. Alvarez's clinical pursuits extend to other neuroimmunological disorders such as neuromyelitis optica, neurosarcoidosis, and autoantibody/paraneoplastic syndromes, reflecting his comprehensive expertise in the field.
