TayCo Brace, Inc. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: X224-OCSO1

Description

Musculoskeletal injuries (MSKI) cost the DoD $3.7B and 25 million lost duty days annually.  Ankle injuries are the second most common MSKI  with service members 5x more likely to sustain an ankle injury than the general population making it a leading cause of lost training and combat operation time. Research shows the military will incur $7.4 million in savings by investing just $154,550 per year into ankle bracing technology.  TayCo’s External Ankle Brace (XAB) is utilized over the airman’s boot or athletic shoe immediately post-injury to reduce or eliminate downtime from mission readiness– in many cases, tactical athletes can return to training or combat instantly. It is rugged enough to withstand the punishment of professional sports, yet lightweight and nimble enough to reduce the risks of limb imbalances, and soft tissue breakdown associated with walking boots, air casts, or lace-up braces. TayCo XAB users return to functional duty 4x faster than people using traditional boot or bracing options. By adding sensors to create a “Smart-Brace,” healthcare providers can remotely monitor injured patients to facilitate compliance and reduce movement dysfunction thereby returning airmen to full duty more quickly and reduce the current 44% chance of ankle re-injury.