When Bionic Power became the first company to move into Holland Bloorview’s commercialization zone incubator in December 2023, it marked the beginning of a new partnership focused on pediatric mobility innovation.

Led by CEO Gualtiero Guadagni, Bionic Power is a Canadian company that develops lower-body smart orthoses designed to enhance mobility and quality of life. Its technology includes Agilik, a smart orthosis that provides assistance or resistance at the knee during walking.

For Bionic Power, being embedded at Holland Bloorview offered more than a place to work. It provided opportunities to connect with pediatric rehabilitation expertise across the hospital and the Bloorview Research Institute, while exploring how its technology could support the needs of children and youth with disabilities.

Nearly three years later, Bionic Power is concluding its time in the incubator as the company enters its next stage of growth.

"Being embedded at Holland Bloorview allowed us to build a team in Toronto that today manages all of our worldwide customer support,” says Gualtiero Guadagni, CEO, Bionic Power. “Beyond that, it gave us the opportunity to connect with outstanding researchers, at PROPEL Lab, with whom we have worked, and will continue to work, on developing new products aimed at improving mobility for both children and adults."

Building partnerships around pediatric rehabilitation

Holland Bloorview’s incubator was created as part of the hospital’s commercialization zone to support external startups and entrepreneurs developing solutions relevant to pediatric rehabilitation. By locating companies within the hospital’s research and clinical environment, the space provides opportunities to connect with researchers, clinicians, trainees and commercialization expertise.

For Bionic Power, those connections have led to new opportunities for collaboration.

A Mitacs Accelerate project involving Bionic Power and the University of Toronto was recently approved to investigate a motor-powered pediatric prosthetic knee joint. The $10,000 project is supervised by Dr. Jan Andrysek, senior scientist at BRI, with Bionic Power serving as the partner organization.

The development work has been led by University of Toronto master’s student Elijah Birley as part of his thesis, with contributions from Holland Bloorview’s orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) department to the development and testing of the technology.

The project will evaluate actuator performance, including torque and battery life, with the longer-term aim of creating an active prosthetic knee designed for children. Active prosthetic knees are generally designed for adults and their size and weight can make them unsuitable for pediatric use.

“Children aren’t simply smaller adults, and technologies designed for adults can’t always be scaled down to meet their needs,” says Dr. Andrysek. “This project brings together Bionic Power’s technology, research and engineering expertise, trainee talent and the clinical knowledge of our orthotics and prosthetics colleagues to explore a solution designed specifically with pediatric mobility in mind.”

The collaboration reflects BRI’s broader commitment to building partnerships that help move research and innovation toward real-world impact. One of BRI’s four strategic priorities is to enable transformational impact, which includes strengthening commercialization efforts and building mutually beneficial partnerships with industry, academia, clinicians and other partners.

In this case, the partnership brings together a Canadian company, BRI research expertise, University of Toronto trainee talent and clinical expertise at Holland Bloorview around a shared pediatric rehabilitation challenge.

Moving into the next chapter

Bionic Power’s next chapter will also connect the company with a broader mobility innovation ecosystem.

The company was selected as one of 10 startups in the second cohort of the Mobility Unlimited Hub in Toronto, a MaRS Discovery District and Toyota Mobility Foundation program focused on active mobility, rehabilitative, adaptive and assistive solutions.

As Bionic Power moves on from Holland Bloorview’s incubator, its journey provides an early example of the model the space was designed to support: bringing companies closer to pediatric rehabilitation expertise and creating an environment where relationships and collaborations can develop.

“Bionic Power was our first incubator tenant, so it has been exciting to see the relationships and opportunities that have developed during their time here,” says Sharon Wong, director, research partnerships and impact, Bloorview Research Institute. “This is what we envisioned for the incubator - creating an environment where companies, researchers, clinicians and trainees can bring their expertise together around pediatric rehabilitation needs. As Bionic Power moves into its next chapter, we’re excited to open the door to another company and see what new partnerships can grow from the space.”

Opening the door to the next startup

Bionic Power’s transition means Holland Bloorview’s incubator space is now available for its next tenant.

At BRI, commercialization is one pathway for turning research knowledge and discoveries into solutions that can create sustainable, real-world impact. The institute’s strategic plan emphasizes commercialization and partnerships as important ways to help discoveries, interventions and tools reach the people who need them. 

The BRI will continue to support startups developing solutions relevant to pediatric rehabilitation by creating opportunities to connect with research expertise, clinical insight, commercialization support and potential partnership pathways.

Are you a startup developing an innovative solution for pediatric rehabilitation? Holland Bloorview’s commercialization incubator space is now available. To learn more about the space and opportunities to work with the commercialization team, contact commercialization@hollandbloorview.ca.

By Priyanka Shah