CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Myomo, Inc. (NYSE American: MYO) (“Myomo” or the “Company”), a commercial stage medical device company, today announced the launch of MyoPro For Veterans, a strategic awareness program that broadens accessibility of MyoPro powered upper limb orthotics (arm brace) to the many veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces that could potentially benefit from the technology, restoring function to weakened or paralyzed upper limbs.
“The U.S. Veterans Administration includes 168 VA Medical Centers (VAMC) and 1,053 outpatient sites,” said Paul R. Gudonis, Chairman and CEO of Myomo. “The goal of our MyoPro for Veterans program is to make physical and rehabilitation physicians and occupational therapists at these facilities, as well as the veterans they serve each year, aware of what MyoPro might do for them. Many individuals have regained the ability to use their paralyzed arms and hands again with MyoPro, and we are collaborating with VA Medical Centers to provide this technology to many more veterans in their care.”
“Our marketing program includes social, web-based, and direct VA outreach activities that leverage existing communications channels and relationships the company has built over the past months,” added Cliff Conneighton, Chief Marketing Officer of Myomo. “Early feedback on our campaign has been promising. Our recent national webinar was joined by over 420 occupational therapists.”
Other initiatives and activities being implemented include:
- An awareness campaign to veteran-focused publications;
- Facebook and other social media content for veterans;
- Peer-to-peer educational materials from Myomo’s Chief Medical Officer to rehabilitation physicians at VA Medical Centers;
- The Myoelectric Rehab Consult Service, offering clinical consultation to help physicians at VA Medical Centers new to MyoPro with their first patients;
- A campaign to educate Veterans Service Officers on how to identify potential MyoPro patients;
- New informational veterans’ videos and case studies; and
- Participation in clinical research on outcomes for veterans who have been supplied with a MyoPro orthosis.
A recent case report published in Military Medicine concluded that the Marine they monitored “demonstrated an improved ability to incorporate his affected extremity into a wide variety of bilateral, gross motor activities of daily living such as carrying a laundry basket, lifting heavy objects (e.g. a chair), using a tape measure, meal preparation, and opening doors. Custom myoelectric orthoses offer an exciting opportunity for individuals diagnosed with a variety of neurological conditions to make advancements toward their recovery and independence, and warrant further research into their training effects as well as their use as assistive devices.”
Jay Jay, a USMC Vietnam Purple Heart Veteran who suffered a stroke and was fitted with MyoPro by the Cleveland VA, remarked, "I can definitely say the MyoPro has given me my independence back.”
Dave, a veteran with the Maryland Army National Guard who received his MyoPro through the Baltimore VAMC, said, “Before MyoPro, my arm was just there. Now I can get it to do the things I want it to do. I’m able to load and unload the dishwasher, and move clothes around. It’s given me a lot of confidence.” And now with two functioning hands, Dave has been able to return to his hobby of woodworking. “If anybody says you can’t get something back that you lost years ago, that’s not a true statement. You can get it back, but you have to work at it,” he said.
“A MyoPro device can help many veterans regain functional movement of a paralyzed arm,” said Coleman Nee, a member of Myomo’s advisory board, a former U.S. Marine and a former Massachusetts Secretary of Veterans’ Services. “We are committed to helping veterans get this device in support of a move to independence."
Myomo provides the MyoPro devices and offers training directly to the Veterans Administration, through orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) practices designated MyoPro Centers of Excellence, and through its distribution partner Ottobock, the global market leader in technical orthopedics and prosthetics.
About Myomo
Myomo, Inc. is a commercial stage medical
robotics company that offers expanded mobility for those suffering from
neurological disorders and upper limb paralysis. Myomo develops and
markets the MyoPro product line. MyoPro is a powered upper limb orthosis
designed to restore function to the weakened or paralyzed arms of
patients suffering from CVA stroke, brachial plexus injury, traumatic
brain or spinal cord injury, ALS or other neuromuscular disease or
injury. It is currently the only marketed device that, sensing a
patient’s own EMG signals through non-invasive sensors on the arm, can
restore an individual’s ability to perform activities of daily living,
including feeding themselves, carrying objects and doing household
tasks. Many are able to return to work, live independently and reduce
their cost of care. Myomo is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
with sales and clinical professionals across the U.S. For more
information, please visit www.myomo.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements regarding the Company's future business
expectations, including the launch of MyoPro for Veterans, which are
subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only
predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a
variety of factors. Our actual results could differ materially from
those anticipated in these forward looking statements for many reasons,
including, without limitation, risks related to regulatory approval and
market acceptance of our products, and the other risk factors contained
in our filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. More
information about factors that potentially could affect Myomo's
financial results is included in Myomo's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue
reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date made. The Company disclaims any obligation subsequently to
revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances
after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of
anticipated or unanticipated events.
