Healing power of music: MedRhythms helps people using sensors, neuroscience and music
File Photo / Jim Neuger
Brian Harris, co-founder of MedRhythms, is a certified neurologic music therapist.
MedRhythms is a Portland-based digital health startup that uses sensors, software and music to help restore nervous system functioning and walking ability.
The founders wanted to find a way to improve people’s quality of life.
How it started
Brian Harris, the co-founder and CEO of MedRhythms, is a certified neurologic music therapist. He created and implemented the first full-time, inpatient neurologic music therapy program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, specializing in traumatic brain injury, stroke and neurologic disease. He also co-founded the arts and neuroscience group at the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
“I have always loved music and knew that it would be a big part of my life, but I knew that music education or focusing just on performance was not for me,” says Harris.
In 2015, the business was founded by Harris and Owen McCarthy. The MedRhythms platform is based on neuroscience and clinical research indicating that music improves functional outcomes in neurologic rehabilitation by globally engaging the brain. Specifically, rhythm can engage the auditory system, generating motor responses and aiding in structural changes in the brain through neuroplasticity.
In 2016, the company moved its headquarters from Boston to Portland. It is located at 183 Middle St.
“We cared about Maine and wanted to build an iconic company here. We had great support from the ecosystem and from the state of Maine to do so,” says Harris.
Early on, the MedRhythms was helped by grants from the Maine Technology Institute, investment from Maine Venture Fund and Finance Authority of Maine programming.
“It is a great place to live and work,” says Harris. “It also attracts great people wanting to work here.”
A recent breakthrough
MedRhythms recently completed a study that revealed music could have an enhanced quality of life for those with Parkinson’s disease. The feasibility study showed positive results in treating changes in regular walking patterns, also known as gait deficits, which are often related to a disease or problem in different areas of the body. The preliminary results showed improvement in patients’ motor control symptoms related to their walking capacity and functional mobility.
“In successfully completing our first clinical trial in Parkinson’s disease in collaboration with Boston University and one of the world’s leading hospitals, we have made significant progress on the advancement of our pipeline,” Harris said at the time. “The clinical feasibility from this trial and our recently completed pivotal trial in chronic stroke is essential as we work toward our goal of building next-generation neurotherapeutics that are evidence-based and can positively impact the lives of patients around the world.”
The results of this study will be submitted for a peer-reviewed publication and presented at the upcoming American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections meeting. A follow-up clinical study of adults with Parkinson’s disease is now underway.
Funding
The company has grown over the past two years, and now has a hybrid team of 44 employees across the U.S.
To date, MedRhythms has raised $37 million from angel investors, venture capital firms, Maine Technology Institute and Jean Hoffman, who founded Putney, a Portland-based maker of generic veterinary drugs that was sold for $200 million to a subsidiary of Dechra Pharmaceuticals. MedRhythms also received investments from Werth Ventures, Morningside Ventures and Advantage Capital.
In 2018, the company raised $5 million in an oversubscribed Series A Financing round. In 2021, the firm obtained $25 million in Series B venture capital funding and another $2 million from Global Brain and Bose Ventures.
“Giving up was never an option,” says Harris. “We didn’t know where financing was coming from to keep the organization going, but I was always committed to figuring everything out, and at no moment was I going to give this up. “There isn’t a book or playbook on how to build a successful company.”
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