Giving a Guiding Hand to IRegained
When the team at IRegained first created the MyHand® System, their goal was clear: help people regain lost hand function after a stroke or traumatic brain injury. The digital therapy platform uses targeted, personalized exercises and interactive games to support hand recovery through neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s inherent ability to reprogram its neural pathways and relearn.
The innovation showed early promise, and its potential expanded significantly after a meeting with Praxis, where the IRegained team was introduced to how the MyHand® System could benefit the spinal cord injury (SCI) community. Recognizing this untapped opportunity, Praxis supported IRegained through its inaugural SCI Adopt program following a thorough evaluation process and began working closely with the team to adapt the system for people living with SCI. More than just a funding partner, Praxis offered access to a community of clinicians, people with lived experience, and neurorehabilitation specialists who helped shape the product’s evolution in real-time.
“We originally focused on stroke because that’s where the main target population, funding and research were,” says Samir Sahoo, Chief Operating Officer, IRegained. “Praxis expanded our vision. They helped us see a real, unmet need in the SCI community, and they gave us the tools and connections to do something about it.”
One of the most important early insights came from user experience. The team had built the system for one-hand impairment, as this is common for people who have had a stroke. After meeting SCI users with bilateral hand impairments, the IRegained team quickly learned that their technology needed to adapt to have a greater impact. “It seems so simple now,” adds Eric Dumais, Deputy Director, Clinical Operations, IRegained. “Designing for both hands changed everything. The feedback from Praxis made the system more accessible, inclusive, and ultimately more effective.”
As part of the program, Praxis funded the deployment of MyHand® at Walk-It-Off Neuro-Recovery and Wellness Centre, a rehabilitation clinic in Newmarket, Ontario. Over a three-month pilot, five individuals living with SCI used the MyHand® System, and the results were both encouraging and moving. Patients reported increased grip strength and functional improvements. Even more powerfully, they described regaining a sense of independence in their daily lives.
“We are very thankful to Praxis for generously funding a MyHand® System for Walk It Off. Clinicians enjoy it and find it intuitive to use with patients, while patients who use it find it fun and engaging.”
– K., RKin at Walk-It-Off.
“We previously met someone with a C4-C5 injury who had very limited hand function,” Dumais adds. “Seeing even small gains in their ability to interact with the world, it was emotional. That’s when we knew we were on the right path.”
Working with Praxis’ Dr. Vanessa Noonan and the persons with lived experience team, IRegained identified a cost-effective and meaningful way to measure outcomes. Grip strength, user feedback, and simple questionnaires replaced more expensive and time-consuming clinical assessments, ensuring valuable insights were compiled without overwhelming clinics.
Praxis also played a key role in supporting a health economics analysis, providing data on quality-adjusted life years, standards of care, and policy trends. With this foundation, IRegained built a compelling case: their device could offer equal or better clinical outcomes than current approaches, at a lower long-term cost. Early data suggests potential savings of around $160 per patient per year, along with reduced burden on clinicians, and even potentially reduced reliance on caregivers.
“There’s a clear benefit to using our technology,” Sahoo says. “The question is, if not MyHand®, then what? Clinics are often left with tools that don’t make a meaningful difference. MyHand® offers the potential for real gains in function and overall quality of life.”
Looking ahead, IRegained’s goal is to expand access and adoption, it is currently available at three locations in Canada and four in the US. “Everyone who uses the device wants to keep using it. It’s our mission to bring this technology to more people, more clinics, and more communities,” says Sahoo.
Both Sahoo and Dumais credit Praxis for the critical role it has played in IRegained’s journey. “No other organization does what Praxis does, connecting companies like ours with the networks and people we want our product to impact. Without the support of Praxis, MyHand® wouldn’t be where it is today. And neither would we,” says Dumais.
IRegained received support from Praxis as part of the inaugural SCI Adopt program, an initiative designed to advance innovative solutions in spinal cord injury care.