Nagoya University Students Launch Crowdfunding for Innovative Medical Testing Device

Orthostatic Dysregulation (OD) is a form of autonomic dysregulation, most prevalent during adolescence, that causes disabling symptoms including inability to wake up in the morning, dizziness, headaches, and abdominal pain, and can take several years to recover from. It is estimated that one in ten middle school students experiences OD symptoms, and that 30-40% of students unable to attend school long term are suffering from the condition.

The orthostatic test, which is used to quantify the symptoms of OD cases, is currently performed in only a few hospitals. Now Nagoya University student Kensuke Kakuta, former OD sufferer and leader of startup company Position, has developed a portable device called OD Checker that will allow patients to measure their symptoms at home.

Position is an interdisciplinary effort. Kakuta is a PhD student at the Graduate School of Engineering, as is collaborator Kosuke Komuro. Daiki Tanaka, who is in charge of marketing, is a 4th year student at the School of Informatics, and neurologist Sachiko Furukawa is a PhD student at the Graduate School of Medicine. Advising them are two faculty, Dr. Keisuke Kuroda of the Graduate School of Medicine and Dr. Tomonari Hamaguchi of the Division of Academic Research, Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration.

Startup funding from the Tokai University Startup Preparation Fund has brought the team this far, and now they are launching a crowdfunding campaign to complete and launch the product.