Kaliber Imaging has developed a three-dimensional system to analyze patient mobility and work to prevent falls.
Kaliber’s Mobility Monitor Assessment System provides 3-D
measurements for mobility, walking gait, and range of motion. It helps
to assess a patient’s condition, validating subjective mobility
evaluations that are a part of physical therapy and occupational
therapy.
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“My husband and I wanted to find a way to help people stay active as
they get older,” said company co-founder Judy Reinhold. “As people get
older, they want to be active and able to be with their families.”
Kaliber was founded in 2010 by Judy Reinhold and her husband, Ralph
Reinhold. Judy Reinhold said the aging population is prone to falling,
sometimes leading to time in a wheelchair. The Kaliber Imaging system
will help to prevent this by analyzing the way people move and helping
therapists show patients the right preventative measures.
There are a couple of other systems used in rehabilitation
facilities and hospitals to help assess patient movement capabilities.
One is the Dartfish system. “It is commonly used, but it only takes
video of movement and can’t actually assess a patient’s condition,”
Reinhold said. “Our system actually assesses and collects data on the
movement.”
Another is called the Vicon, which has about 12 cameras hooked up to
various areas of the room. Because of this, it requires a large area
for assessment and costs about $400,000.
What makes the Kaliber Imaging system different, Reinhold said is
that it is portable, more economical than its competitors, and can be
customized to the individual using it.
“Our first two systems, one for us and one for Marquette, will be
coming out in May for tests,” Reinhold said. “They will cost about
$12,000 each.”
Reinhold said the $12,000 cost is expected to drop even more as more
MMAS systems are produced because it’s cheaper to produce them in bulk,
thus lowering their selling price per unit.
“We expect that our first systems (for use at rehabilitation centers
and hospitals) that hit the market will be out in June of 2015,”
Reinhold said.
Since the niche market for the Kaliber Imaging system is the
population at higher risk of falling, when the system does hit the
market it will initially be sold to rehabilitation facilities,
retirement homes and hospitals.
One location Reinhold cited as a possible early adopter is Felician Village, a senior retirement community in Manitowoc.
The Reinholds are targeting a niche market for now, but they’re not
neglecting the possibility that their system is capable of helping all
people with injuries that affect mobility.
Judy Reinhold hinted they want the system to reach beyond the niche
market. They hope to be able to expand to markets including personal and
sports related injuries, senior long term care, early Alzheimer’s and
stroke detection, and telehealth for remote, rural seniors and
home-bound veterans.
Through grants more than $3 million, Kaliber Imaging estimates that
once the system hits the market in 2015, the company will be able to
sell around 700 units by the third year of operation, which would equal
$5.6 million in sales.
The company is a finalist in the 2014 Governor’s Business Plan
Contest, which will culminate June 3-4 at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’
Conference in Madison.
— By Seth Braddock, for WisBusiness.com . Braddock is a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.
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