Programme
Accelerate Alumni (Cohort 20)
Founded in
2019
Total funds raised
£8.7 million
Employees
11-50
Industry
Healthcare
Charco is a medtech startup working on a system for people with Parkinson’s to improve their quality of life. Over 10 million people around the world are suffering with stiffness and slowness caused by Parkinson’s Disease. CUE1, a focused vibrotactile stimulation device, has granted all the pilot participants improved movement. Participants claimed that they felt their movement was smoother and better coordinated when using the device.
Charco Neurotech is a medtech startup working to bring back smiles for people with Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s affects over 10 million people worldwide, with stiffness, tremors and difficulty initiating movement interfering with daily life.
The CUE1 is a non-invasive, wearable medical device. It is worn on the sternum and delivers focused vibrotactile stimulation, shown to disrupt the overactive brainwaves that cause many Parkinson’s symptoms. It also serves as a cueing device, pulsing rhythmically to provide an external stimulus which can be focused on to help initiate movement. Charco’s research to date has demonstrated the device is effective for 92% of users, with an improvement in symptom scores equivalent to many Parkinson’s medications.
Accelerate Cambridge provided vital mentoring and guidance when Charco was still at a very early stage. Since taking part, the company has raised US$10 million, and grown to around 30 FTE across Cambridge, Korea and the US. Over 3,000 CUE1 devices have now been sold, and it has just been approved for sale on the NHS. FDA approval is targeted by the middle of next year, and Charco has already begun some initial sales in Europe.
In 2022, Charco’s CEO, Lucy Jung, became Cambridge Judge Business School’s youngest-ever Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and Charco was awarded MedTech Startup of the Year at the UK Enterprise Awards. The company also won a MedTech Innovation Award for Design in 2020, and an iF Design Award in 2023.
Charco is currently preparing for a Series A funding round, expected to close before the end of the year.
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