JOGO is a digital rehabilitation solution for the treatment of neuromuscular disorders. JOGO treats chronic pain, Parkinson’s tremors, stroke, incontinence and other neurological conditions using Neuroplasty.
Sanjai Murali, a graduate from Annamalai University, moved to the US for pursuing a Master’s degree. He did not have big dreams of becoming an entrepreneur.
Working with corporate giants likes FedEx, AT&T and later with a start-up growing it from scratch, did not excite him enough. With no solid plans but a strong desire to do something new and fascinating, drove Sanjai to quit his job. After 15 years, he became the founder of JOGO, a digital rehabilitation solution provider that promises a new horizon for the treatment of neuromuscular conditions.
YEARS of PATIENCE and PERSEVERANCE…
The journey took over eight long years of persistence and patience to roll out an AI-driven mobile app to treat patients and even get the FDA clearance and patent rights. JOGO currently treats chronic pain, Parkinson’s tremors, stroke, incontinence and other neurological conditions using Neuroplasty.
The treatment is based on scientific research for over 40 years, says Sanjai. The ‘JO’ and ‘GO’ in the name stands for Dr Joe Brudny of New York University’s Rusk Rehabilitation Center and Dr Gordon Silverman of Rockefeller University. They were the pioneers in treating patients in the late 1980s, suffering neurological problems.
Sanjai spent time with the doctors’ patients to understand more. While he was impressed by the benefits, he found the treatment confined to select hospitals and labs and patients had to travel far to get treated.
“In 2010, I started Neurotherapeutics, a start-up, to develop an AI product that could take the treatment to a wider population,” said Sanjai. In six years, the product was ready for launch. In 2016 the company was renamed JOGO. The medical world was excited to use this technology beyond treating strokes. Today, JOGO offers its services in Massachusetts and New York, states where the process for insurance coverage has been completed.
JOGO reaches Chennai
In 2019 the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, during his visit to New York along with his delegation, invited JOGO to set up clinics back home. In Feb 2020, the Indian
operations began with its first clinic opened at Shastri Nagar in Chennai. “Over 3000 patients have been treated since and we conduct regular follow up with our patients,” said Siva Nadarajah, Co-Founder and President, JOGO.
In a recent study at the Harvard Medical School,
JOGO’s treatment was found to be working better than the Opioid treatment for chronic back pain. Eight weeks of treatment for chronic back pain costs around Rs 25,000. Compared to the repeated rehabilitation visits and medication expenses in other treatments, cost of JOGO is modest, said Siva. He also added that the company is in talks with the Tamil Nadu government to help cover the cost for the low-income patients.
JOGO is aiming at structured, sturdy growth. Getting a well-trained workforce has been a challenge and JOGO is working with universities like Harvard Medical School in the US and AIIMS in India to work on curriculum that can help find the right resources out from universities. JOGO has its own training teams.
JOGO clinics are set up in major hospitals in Chennai and Madurai. The company is also in the final stages of clinching a deal with an IT company. Back pain and productivity loss have been issues with the IT workforce. JOGO Kits, which include amazon tablets and tiny sensors manufactured in Dublin, will be delivered to the patients for telemedical sessions.
Future of JOGO
The company has been successfully backed by venture capital. “We raised USD 7 million initially and will be finalising another USD 15 million soon,” said Siva. There is a 300 per cent growth in the revenues and the client base in the past two years, more striking for these being the pandemic years, he added.
JOGO’s journey has been impressive. Sanjai still recalls dark moments that could have stopped him in the years tiding over tough times. But for the inner call to do just for the love and thrill of achievement, JOGO would not have seen its day. – Suchitra Srinivas
