AiKNIT is a start-up founded by Sophie Richter, a healthcare design graduate from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. The company fuses digital material practices, cutting edge technology, and a deep empathy for the human body, to create a paradigm shifting experience in the approach to healing musculoskeletal disorders.
It differentiates itself through placement beyond current structures – it is not just a medical device, nor a fashion piece, but a new industry which values healing and wellbeing at the core.
With its novel material approach, aiKNIT designs programmable wearable devices that can change their material characteristics such as stiffness and elasticity that fit the patient’s anatomical and physiological needs in a highly personalised way to facilitate faster and more effective healing with lesser side effects and shorter treatment times.
AiKNIT was on Cohort Six of MedTech SuperConnector. From this, Sophie participated in and selected as a finalist for WEInnovate, Imperial’s pre-accelerator programme for women-led start-ups, where she received the prestigious Lauren Dennis Award for demonstrating an exceptional entrepreneurial spirit in STEM. The company has recently secured further grant funding through Innovate UK and built an interdisciplinary team of designers, scientist and clinicians who are on a mission to transform the treatment of conditions relating to the biomechanical system.
