A little background on Kinnections:
Back in 2023, Emmie’s friend’s mother with Parkinson’s Disease and had seen the news about Stanford’s coordinated reset therapy. She reached out to Emmie for help building a prototype. Over a few months, Emmie developed a larger nonportable version, which she used consistently. After six months of daily use, she experienced significant symptom improvement. Since then, other friends and community members have tried the glove, with varied but promising results.
In 2024 (Emmie was a freshman, and Tomi was a sophomore) at Rice, we enrolled in an engineering design course at the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen. Together we developed an open-sourced an improved version of the glove, which we published that June online. Initially, we set the project aside and only responded to emails—but by Thanksgiving, we realized over 150 people had reached out asking to either build or purchase a pair. That’s when Tomi and Emmie decided to fully commit and form Kinnections as a nonprofit startup.
Moving forward!
Our goal is to launch our first kits for $250 through our online storefront this fall. We are collaborating with the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society (HAPS), Sewn HTX, and mentors from the Texas Medical Center to spread awareness and improve the glove based on patient needs.
