Project MLI® Back

Update December 2022

Final update with respect to the EU grant -

Autumn of 2022 was spend, together with our vendor, to improve the design for manufacturing & assembly. From the prototypes delivered in August we found several improvement points, where the design could be optimized towards the end of the project. We also released our new app that is capable of connecting and streaming data from the Back device. CE marking is in good process and the device has been tested without exceeding limits. The Back is retested to re-ensure compliance with the updates that we have made to the plastic parts.

Update June 2022

Long time since the last update, however, we have not been standing still! At all! Autumn of 2021 was spend on refining the tests that were already ongoing during the spring of 2021. Plus we provided reports and evidence that we have a product that can provide great insights on the users’ strain.

Winter of 2021 was used on finding the vendor to could bring the entire hardware product to a new levels and in March this year the contract was signed. First mock-ups have already been provided and it looks amazing. Integration and functionality have really increased. And we are looking forward with great expectations to this revision.

Update June 2021

During the winter of 2020/2021 MLI® Back came alive due to a great effort of our team and vendors. During the first months of 2021 the entire team went the extra mile to get ready for our test, performed in collaboration with Tryg Forsikring A/S and ISS FACILITY SERVICES A/S, resulting in analysis performed on more than 100 employees, user interviews, focus group interviews and much more, that brought great value to both the participants, participating parties and the on-going development.

Update October 2020

Finally - we went from believing that we had a technical solution to also prove that it is viable for our product. During the last couple of months, we have made several mock-ups, both functional and non-functional, to investigate many aspects of the product design.

We also, from a thorough market search and tender process, selected a collaboration partner to develop our first actual prototype of the product. The goal is to have it in hand later this year. Several iterations of the garment and sensors have already been investigated and tested.

We are really excited and very much looking forward to having the first iteration of our next product in hand very very soon.

Update May 2020

What we thought to be a walk in the park showed not to be - nevertheless, we believe that we have found a solution to our technical obstacle.

The next step is to get signed contracts with vendors so we can start to build our first prototypes.

Update December 2019

Tender input is taking shape. We are now crisp on possible causes of lower back pain. We know what to measure and we know what technology to use. With the input on where we want to measure we have also had the industrial design, the design intent of the physical product, made. Can’t disclose too much; but is the next-level smart wearable that we are about to make.

The next steps are to have the design intent, user and product requirements, as well as project requirements, build into the tender.

Update October 2019

First, take on segmentation, personas and user needs have been established. Industrial design is about to take shape.

Update August 2019

Hiring our two junior developers has put great tracking on the project. We are in the process of doing a feasibility study, which is meant to be the input for the tender. We have to get crisp on the user needs, industrial design, technology to use and how to implement it.

The story behind the Back Project

Our next solution will be for the lower back. The problem is many times bigger than that of tennis elbow and we cannot wait to help the many people suffering from pain in their backs. We have initiated the development and received a large fund from the European Regional Development Fund. We plan for MLI® Back to be available in 2021.

A lot of people suffers from issues with their backs and if we visit a doctor they will most likely nod and comfort us with the research data saying that all of us will at some point suffer from back pain during our lifetime. So the issue is common and the impact is huge.

We want to help people struck by this issue. And we believe that we can do it in the same manner as with the MLI® Elbow solution. We will help you by providing feedback, guiding you, to allow for you to change your behaviour, you straining your back. This will help you decrease the risk of you developing an issue.

We do this by measuring your activity and relevant risk factors, asses these monitored signals and inform you if the strain level is high. The provided training and guidance will help you in your behaviour modification towards a future without strain related issues.

The back is a complex size and what causes back pain is even more complex. Heavy lifting is not an issue if performed correctly with the correct lifting technique. But lifting the same weight in an awkward position, bent or twisted, might cause an acute issue. Muscle strength and fatigue also play a role. So a lot of correlated complex factors that are decisive for strain in the lower back have to be monitored and assessed. This is also why we in PRECURE look into a the development project with great excitement! Developing this product will be difficult, hard at times, and will require that we need to walk the extra mile. But we'll manage, bringing this new innovative product to you - as we did with the MLI® Elbow.

We have received almost 2.700.000kr from the EU Regional Development Fund allowing for us to start the project.