In 2020, the number of patients with spinal diseases in South Korea exceeded 9.2 million. This means that one-fifth of the population has a spine condition. Spinal diseases can become chronic. Experts estimate that the number of people with spinal disorders could reach about 20 million in an aging society such as Korea. The causes of spinal disorders include an aging population and an increasingly sedentary workforce. To prevent spinal diseases, it’s important to maintain good posture and stretch. The field of digital healthcare is gaining traction, especially among busy professionals who can manage their spine health remotely.

Slingshot-like elasticity protect your back

Wide Band helps correct your posture

Spine Doctor is a startup that offers a range of posture correction products, medical devices, sporting goods, and healthcare.

CEO Minjoon Cha has been doing research for his father, who has been suffering from a spinal disease for 30 years. During his research, he was inspired by the principle of the slingshot to develop a traction therapy device and became an entrepreneur through the One Person Creative Enterprise Support Center. The result is Wide Band, a posture-correcting stretching and strength training device. The Wide Band is a device that works to stretch the lower back and shoulders while pulling on body parts such as the shoulders and hunched back with the physical properties of the band. It’s especially useful for people who sit for long periods of time, and you can work out anywhere and anytime with this device. It”s a great way to stretch and strengthen your back, knees, hips, elbows, shoulders, neck, and even your joints and muscles. The Wide Band is based on Hygenic’s Theraband, which is recommended and endorsed by the American Physical Therapy Association. It’s comfortable to use and has a unique elasticity that doesn’t break easily, making it perfect for resistance training, so it won’t put too much strain on you when stretching or exercising. It’s also worth noting that many machines that use this type of elastic use cheap rubber tubing bands, which tend to break or stretch easily, but this one is based on Theraband, which is more durable.

Crowdfunding race wins SMEs and Startup’s Minister’s Award

Leveraging IOT for digital healthcare

With a total of six intensities, Wide Band can be used by men, women, children, and even health trainers. With this performance, the company accumulated over 70 million won in crowdfunding in Korea and Japan, and won the Minister’s Award for SMEs and Startups in the 2021 Crowdfunding Race.

Spine Doctor’s IoT Wide Band system is a real-time monitoring and feedback system for tensile force. It measures real-time force values and improves the band’s performance by adjusting the strength and length with dialed controls, reinforcing the elastic material, and attaching modular replacement features. The measured data will be translated into Spine Doctor data to manage height, weight, goals, etc. The company aims to build a monitoring and reminder system for stretching and to build web and app services.

The company has developed and is preparing for commercialization the SD-2000A, a product that targets homes with improved convenience through chair-type attachment, and the SD-1800, which uses high-elasticity tubing bands to simultaneously improve range of motion, waist, and neck. Along with product development, the company is pursuing overseas market through crowdfunding in Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and the EU, and is moving toward becoming a global digital healthcare company beyond Korea.