Bodii: Clearing the road to recovery

Long-term injury recovery can be a frustrating experience.

One single incident can lead to months or years of doctor’s appointments, physio and knock-on injuries.

Bodii founder Chris Fernandes understands this all too well.

In 2016, the then-aspiring footballer tore the ligaments in his knee during a training session and went on to have three more major injuries in the years that followed.

“I just hated everything about my recovery journey in the UK,” Chris tells Health Tech World.

“Maybe I was just slightly unlucky but I did not enjoy it in both public and private care.

“There’s a huge mismatch in terms of what a hospital is able to deliver and what a patient actually needs. In order to get the highest level of treatment, one would have to fork out at least £40-60 per session!”

Chris Fernandes

Chris spent a lot of time speaking to those in a similar position and it soon became clear that they felt frustrated by the system as most patients simply just wanted to know where they stand in their rehab.

Patients would see a physio for 20 minutes, get sent home with a list of exercises, usually on a leaflet and told to come back in a month.

They would rarely be given the tools to actually get better, and more importantly, very limited guidelines on what progress actually looks like or how to measure it.

“With a focus on knee injuries to begin with, the Bodii Flex helps patients measure their range of motion at home, without having to go into the clinic,” Chris says.

“It’s really simple to use. It’s sent directly to your home and you strap it on to your leg two to three times a week.

“The device is paired with a mobile application which allows patients to track those marginal gains and share the data with their physio if they wish.”

Patients can take the measurements whenever and wherever they are, charting their progress over time and potentially informing their rehab.

Chris says:

“There’s not going to be a huge difference between a couple of days.

“But when you look at about six to eight weeks, eventually, you’re going to see a huge change which ideally encourages you to persist with your plan or revisit it with your therapist”

“We want to get to a stage where physios can actively goal set and monitor progress remotely.

“And hopefully, the patient can work towards those – a more engaging process overall.”

Bodii Flex’s primary alternative is a goniometer which is a device commonly used by physiotherapists in a clinical setting.

Although these are widely available, Chris believes that cheap is not good enough.

“Goniometers are great if you know how to use them and if it actually meant something to an average individual.

“That’s where we hope to see the Bodii Flex excel – a device built with the patient in mind. Our ultimate goal is to be a consumer product as opposed to most of the innovations out there.

Chris adds:

“When you think about the direction physiotherapy and recovery is going, everything is pointing towards objective data, because access to technology and the willingness of patients to engage with it is increasing ever so much.

“As a consumer, being asked to record health data using technology at home is no longer an alien process!”

Bodii is now venture-backed, having received SEIS investment from Nova Growth Capital at the beginning of the year. The company is now raising funding as part of its EIS round.

Olivia Greenberg, Chief Growth Officer at Nova told Health Tech World:

“Globally there are a huge number of people needing physical therapy and facing a multitude of challenges, from finding the right treatment, to attaining a speedy and long-term recovery.

“Bodii is a great example of how it is possible to innovate within the existing ecosystem, improving patient outcomes and positively impacting hospital backlogs.”

Bodii is also working with an NHS Innovation Agency to build a core patient panel to shape the future of the product.

The company is also working with a panel of physiotherapists to validate the value proposition of Bodii Flex ahead of a planned commercial launch during 2023.

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For physicians, patients or investors, feel free to get in touch with Chris directly via email: [email protected]