Academic Research to Product: Filling the gap between the lab and the launch

Vignesh Rajagopal (00:00)

Welcome back to another episode of Fika Bytes. This week, we're sitting down with Jana. She's got one of the more unique paths I've seen to becoming a hardware founder. She started out as a clinician and a researcher—spending a lot of time in academia doing cutting-edge research—and then decided to become an entrepreneur. But not just any entrepreneur—one who ships physical products that can impact and help people's lives. We talk a bit about her first product, which had a very specific medical application, and then her second product, the Breth device, which is geared toward a much larger audience. We also dive into how it feels to take research from academia and find a market for it in the consumer world. Since we recorded this last year, they've been shipping the Breth product and are now gearing up for Kickstarter so they can start working on new hardware and software features. Jana's story is unique, and she shares a lot of valuable lessons. So without further ado, let's get to it.

Vigs (01:13)

All right, we're live. I've got Jana here with me. Jana, thank you so much for taking the time to join. I want to talk about your background and how research and clinical experience led you to engineering and starting a company that's now made two hardware products. We'll get into all of that, but first, tell me a little bit about yourself.

Jana (01:30)

Yeah, thanks, Vigs. I'm really happy to be here and share a bit about my background. I'm trained as a clinician—my training was in speech and language pathology. I did a PhD focused on breathing kinematics and the relationship between breathwork, breathing, and technology—how technology affects us. After that, I got a position at an institute here, working as a clinician-scientist with patients who had head and neck cancer. It was a fantastic opportunity. The institute was very innovative, and one of their core beliefs was to always embed biomedical engineering into our work. We were dealing with titanium implants, doing 3D modeling and rapid prototyping, and eventually developing products as part of True Angle, the company I spun out from the University of Alberta.

Vigs (02:45)

That's a great segue into the moment when you decided to start True Angle. What made you decide, “I want to start a company and build these products?”

Jana (02:59)

I think I always had some entrepreneurial blood in me—my dad was an entrepreneur, and it was something we often talked about at the dinner table. Even during my clinical career, I kept thinking maybe I should go back and do an MBA. That pull was always there. Working at the institute gave me the chance to be creative and push the boundaries of what we could do in medicine. I managed to secure a $2 million grant to develop tech for one of our major problems: serious swallowing disorders—not just discomfort, but life-threatening inability to swallow. The existing technology was huge—basically a big computer cart—and patients couldn't take that home. The biofeedback they needed wasn't accessible. With the grant, we created a small, remote technology that fits in your pocket. Our engineers miniaturized it, and we wrote a commercialization plan as part of the grant. At the time, it was naïve—maybe one page in a 30-page proposal—but there was a promise not to let the technology sit on a shelf. When it came time to renew our provisional patents, research funding wouldn't cover it. I needed money, and some grants were available—but only for companies. So, I started the company. At first, I wasn't sure I had the skills. I brought someone in to help, but quickly realized I could learn and do it myself. I had the drive and the motivation. It was scary, but I was excited. So I jumped in with both feet.

Vigs (07:04)

You said you brought someone in from the business world initially?

Jana (07:11)

Yeah, and what I found was that a lot of what they were doing were things I could actually do—and wanted to do. Eventually, I realized I didn't need that support anymore. I had the skills and drive to take it from there.

Vigs (07:39)

That's a great trait—and part of why you're a successful entrepreneur. You didn't know what you didn't know, but once you started, it snowballed. You do something small, gain confidence, and then keep going. It's about effort and persistence, not clever tricks.

Jana (08:03)

100%. That's such a good observation—it's all about building up confidence.

Vigs (08:12)

Let's talk about your first product, the Mobili-T. Could you describe the system components and how it helps patients, in layman's terms?

Jana (08:30)

Sure! It's a small wireless technology using EMG—surface electromyography—to measure muscle contractions. It's worn under the chin during swallowing exercises. Think of it like physiotherapy for swallowing. Unlike other muscles, you can't see or feel your swallowing muscles easily. That made adherence difficult. Literature showed only 20% adherence to prescribed swallowing exercises. But if patients do them right and consistently, they can recover. So, our wireless device sticks under the chin with a custom adhesive. There's firmware, a patient app with exercise programs, and a clinician portal to track progress in real time. As a clinician, it was amazing—because now we could actually see what the patient was doing, not just rely on what they said.

Vigs (10:22)

Yeah, it's similar to when I first got a Fitbit—it buzzed constantly to remind me to move. I had no idea how little I moved in a day. It really helped me snap out of my sedentary patterns. I can imagine it's even more important for patient rehab.

Jana (11:28)

Exactly. I thought I walked 10,000 steps a day—until I saw the real data. That's why we thought of Mobili-T as the “Fitbit for swallowing.” And it worked—our study showed 78% adherence even after six weeks.

Vigs (12:28)

How did you go from “we need this” to “we're building this”? You didn't have an engineering background, right?

Jana (12:47)

Right, but this is one of my favorite stories. I had started a clinical trial, but it was hard to recruit patients—they had to come to the hospital every day, pay for parking, take time off work. I had to cancel it. Then a young clinician in my lab was chatting with Dylan Scott, an engineer—who later became my co-founder—and asked, “Isn't there a way to make this smaller?” That started the whole thing. We made ugly benchtop prototypes. We brought in industrial design students. Things really took off when we got funding from the Cancer Foundation. Hardware is expensive to develop, so that funding was key. We had engineers, materials engineers—we even filed a patent around flexible electronics, though we didn't end up using that. We had wild prototypes—wires, dangling pieces—and slowly refined it. It was a real collaboration. And yeah, as the company grew, Dylan found himself doing all kinds of things as a co-founder that he never expected, like regulatory and quality management.

Vigs (16:21)

Since it's a medical device, how did that affect marketing and sales? Are you going to clinicians or directly to patients?

Jana (16:40)

That's been a journey. We joined the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator—CDL—which was great. Every six weeks we had to hit goals or get “voted off the island.” It forced us to think about things like regulatory strategy and who our customer really was. We launched as a wellness product, thinking patients could just use it. But it was easier to find clinicians than patients with this specific issue, and patients still relied on clinicians. So we pivoted toward being a medical device. Clinicians got it and loved it—but they usually don't hold the budget. That's the directors, VPs, etc. So we had to navigate health systems, which can be slow. That was unexpected.

Vigs (20:26)

How did all of that inform your second product, Breth Tech? I know it's not fully launched yet, but tell me how your early breathing research came full circle.

Jana (20:49)

We asked ourselves, “How do we keep innovating?” We looked at our strengths—wearables—and saw that breathing was a natural next step. For people with swallowing issues, breathing is crucial, since they're at risk for aspiration. Also, breathing helps with anxiety. We realized breathwork had a much larger market. People don't realize they breathe shallowly until a device shows them. Breth has sensors and gives you audio, visual, and haptic feedback. That haptic input is really calming—it helps people focus, even those who struggle with meditation. It's hard to describe—it's like trying to explain what sugar tastes like.

Vigs (26:23)

And there's a waitlist for Breth right now?

Jana (26:30)

Yeah! We're pre-selling now, and expect to ship in November. Our beta testers are getting their units in the next week or two.

Vigs (26:46)

One last question to wrap up: You mentioned that initial grant didn't want your research to just sit on a shelf. What can we do as a society or industry to help more academic discoveries make it to market?

Jana (27:24)

Universities need to nurture academics who want to commercialize research. Some never will—and that's fine—but for those who do, there needs to be support. I'm seeing more accelerators and early-stage programs embedded in universities, which is great. It's also about knowing your researchers—if someone wants to stay in their lab, can you pair them with an executive-in-residence to help move the technology forward?

Vigs (28:52)

Those are great insights. I actually saw something similar happening at my alma mater, Illinois Tech. Thanks again for taking the time—and powering through our tech difficulties. I'll drop links in the show notes. All the best with Breth. I know you'll iterate on feedback, and it's an exciting time for you!

Vignesh Rajagopal (29:26)

Thanks for making it to the end of the episode. I'd love to know what you thought about Jana's story. Did anything she said resonate with you? Got feedback or suggestions for other stories? Don't hesitate—drop me a message. See you next week!