缅北禁地

By Kyle Hobstetter on August 8, 2019

When Brad Hennessie 鈥�09 came to 缅北禁地 University, he wanted to be a physical therapist.

Now, over a decade after graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in kinesiology, he鈥檚 developing a rehabilitation tool that will help physical therapists treat stroke victims.

Hennessie is CEO and co-founder of , a Baltimore-based startup company that is developing a device to help treat foot drop.

Approximately 30 percent of stroke survivors suffer from foot drop, a mobility disability affecting people who can鈥檛 lift their large toe while walking, thus facing a high risk of falling.

The Columbia, Maryland, native, who also served as a paratrooper in the Maryland Army National Guard, admits he鈥檚 a bit of a risk taker. But even he couldn鈥檛 imagine being in this position after leaving TU. 

鈥淚 like adrenaline,鈥� Hennessie laughs. 鈥淭his is a different type of adrenaline, the type that wakes you up at two in the morning in a cold sweat.

鈥淲e鈥檝e made some remarkable progress in a short amount of time that we鈥檝e been at it. And that鈥檚 largely because of that fact that we鈥檝e had 10 years of clinical data showing this works. I never would have taken this risk if I hadn鈥檛 actually seen patients鈥� lives greatly improve from using the laboratory version of the device.鈥�

According to the National Stroke Association, there are over 7 million stroke survivors in the United States and over 800,000 new stokes per year. 

Hennessie and the group at NextStep Robotics provide a foot drop rehabilitation tool to physical therapy clinics that can offer personalized robotic therapy through adaptive software with a personalized assist-as-needed approach to he.  

Since its inception over two years ago, NextStep Robotics has been awarded several grants, including one from the TEDCO Maryland Innovation Initiative grant, as well as a grant from the Maryland Momentum Fund.

NextStep Robotics received other funding as well, including an investor who suffered from foot drop caused by a stroke. Through use of the group鈥檚 laboratory prototype, the man had his first bit of ankle movement in 17 years. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 empowering to see that, especially with these people who were told there is nothing out there for them,鈥欌�� Hennessie says. 鈥淭hey are given a brace and told they had to wear this for the rest of their lives. 

鈥淎nd with the concept of neuroplasticity, and the changes in the field toward it, that's slowly starting to change a little. But it's going to take devices like ours, which are affordable to the majority of clinics, to be able to really take that into a much more serious practice.鈥� 

Hennessie鈥檚 path toward NextStep Robotics started his senior year at TU when he got an internship with the Maryland Exercise and Robotics Center of Excellence at the Baltimore VA Medical Center. There he met the team he works with now: Dr. Anindo Roy, Dr. Richard Macko and Dr. Larry Forrester. 

That internship turned into a full-time position as a lead clinical research specialist with the University of Maryland, which is where he started his research on stroke recovery and treating foot drop.

During his time at TU, he wanted to help people feel better. But it was through his internship鈥攁nd later in his career鈥攖hat he found he could help more people through research.

鈥淭hrough my internship, I realized I would have a greater impact working in research,鈥� Hennessie says. 鈥淚 worked with the same team for a decade, working my way up and initially helping coordinate research studies. Then I did studies of my own and became the lead coordinator for an entire center with about $7 million in annual funding.鈥� 

Earlier this year, Hennessie welcomed STEM students from TU to the NextStep Robotics office. As part of the Career Center鈥檚 STEM Career Community, Hennessie talked about different STEM careers.

When asked what advice he gave them, he said he told them not to be afraid to take risks. It was relatable advice from someone used to taking risks.   

鈥淥ne of the things I want to get out when I talk to students is 鈥楧on't be so risk averse,鈥欌�� he laughs. 鈥淎round this area it鈥檚 all about working for the government, and you鈥檙e seen as crazy for trying something like this. Don鈥檛 be afraid to take risks.鈥�

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel鈥檚 priorities for 缅北禁地 University: TU Matters to Maryland.