Therapeutic Systems was founded in 2008 by Brian Mullen after winning the UMass Amherst Innovation Challenge ($50k) and a VentureWell E-team grant to translate my PhD research from the research setting to the people in need. The company went on to raise seed funding, a gold winner of MassChallenge ($50k) and launch a FDA class I exempt product named Vayu (see below). Despite initial sales, promising pilot data and use cases the company closed in 2016. The lack of a mental health technology investment market at the time and a more difficult than expected FDA pathway drastically reduce the viability of the company.
Vision:
People with mental illness deserve the same quality and standard of care as people with physical illnesses.
Mission:
To improve the quality of care for people with mental illness and cognitive disabilities by providing evidence based and insurance reimbursed technologies to market.
Select Achievements:
UMass Amherst Innovation Challenge Winner ($50k)
MassChallenge prize winner ($50k)
Raised over $250k in seed funding
Launched product & generated revenue from sales.
Positively impact the lives and families of people with autism and mental illnesses.
The journey in photos:
The image is a screen capture of a google image search. It capturs the evolution from first prototype (top row third from the left), UMass business plan winning (top row right), to winning MassChallenge (bottom row middle) and selling at American Occupational Therapy Conference (bottom row second from left).
Vayu: Deep pressure, Simple & Easy
Comes in 3 Child sizes (seen in photo) & 2 adult sizes