THE CHALLENGE
The MRI market is lacking reliable and MRI compatible tactile assessment technology that can deliver precise and measurable touch feedback for patients with neurological impairments. Existing solutions are either too bulky for routine clinical use or rely on components that disrupt MRI imaging, limiting their value for hospital research centers and rehabilitation providers. This gap forces clinicians to depend on subjective manual tests and prevents businesses from offering objective data driven tools that can improve diagnosis and track recovery. At the same time the technical difficulty of producing controlled low level forces with a stable contact area has prevented companies from commercializing devices that meet both clinical practicality and research grade accuracy.
OUR SOLUTION
We offer a compact and MRI compatible tactile stimulator that brings research grade precision into everyday clinical and neuroimaging environments. Using a simple pneumatic mechanism and a specially engineered kirigami interface that maintains a stable contact area, the device delivers highly controlled touch signals that clinicians and researchers can rely on. Integrated fiber optic sensing and advanced algorithms enable real time force estimation with extremely fine control, allowing accurate assessment of even subtle sensory changes. Its small form factor makes it practical for patients with flexed hands while its fully MRI safe design opens new opportunities for hospitals and research centers to combine tactile testing with brain imaging, creating a valuable and commercially scalable platform for neurological diagnostics and rehabilitation.
Figure: Overview of our novel automated tactile stimulator system.
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