Dec 5
Bringing Valkyrie Industries’ Cutting-Edge Tech to Neurorehab at Hobbs Rehabilitation
The MiNT Academy and Hobbs Rehabilitation are thrilled to unveil the next stage of our partnership with Valkyrie Industries, an innovator leading the way in extended reality (XR) and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) technologies.
Our clinicians at Hobbs Rehabilitation Winchester and Bristol have recently completed their training on Valkyrie’s devices, the eir bands and v-health Mobile, and have started to integrate this into patient sessions.
“We are excited to continue building on this foundation and bring a new standard of innovation to neurorehabilitation.” - Ivan Isakov, CTO and Co-founder of Valkyrie Industries
At Hobbs Rehabilitation, we are so excited to continue this journey with Valkyrie Industries and see where it takes us. We are already seeing promising results in patient outcomes from using their devices, and look forward to seeing all the possibilities for patients that will come with integrating eir bands and v-health into our everyday practice.
Valkyrie Industry’s neurotechnology includes two key products - eir bands and v-health Mobile - both of which are exciting pieces of technology that Hobbs Rehabilitation have begun to incorporate into their treatment sessions.
eir bands are a patented neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) wearable where interactive experiences enhance muscle activation and recovery. Anna Bion, Senior Neurological Therapist, said “I have really enjoyed using the eir bands. They are easy to learn, fit, and set up. The app and device are responsive, reliable, and highly adjustable, making them ideal for functional upper limb repetitive tasks. The stimulation is effective, the design is sleek and practical, and I’ve had no technical difficulties – this gives me great confidence in using them regularly for rehabilitation.”
Valkyrie Industry’s other product, v-health Mobile, is a companion mobile app that, combined with the eir bands, delivers a unique rehab experience, transforming traditional rehabilitation into interactive, gamified recovery. Alison Watt, Head of Operations at The MiNT Academy and Specialist Neurological and Research Physiotherapist, said, “Using Valkyrie Industry’s v-health Mobile with a patient for the first time was a hugely positive experience - the training gave me all of the skills required and the device was simple and quick to set up. Its wireless design allowed the patient to be mobile whilst the FES was applied, increasing the functionality of use”.
Whilst the clinicians have found Valkyrie Industries’ groundbreaking neurotechnology to be of great value during treatment, the patients themselves have found it to be a great asset during sessions. These products were clearly designed with the patients in mind, which is why we have been so keen to integrate them into our practice. At Hobbs Rehabilitation, we’re committed to bringing the most innovative tools into our clinics to help patients achieve their goals. The wearable eir bands, paired with Valkyrie’s intuitive v-health Mobile app, use advanced wireless stimulation and gamified training programs to actively support and enhance neuromuscular recovery. From boosting motor control to improving functional movement, they open new possibilities for patients. Our patients have been seamlessly integrating this technology into personalised treatment plans, working alongside physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and vestibular rehabilitation to create a truly multidisciplinary approach.
We have been lucky enough to have already completed an initial technology evaluation with Valkyrie Industries as one of The MiNT Academy’s Clinical Consultancy Packages, and were excited to be included in the co-development of the v-health XR. We conducted a case study with a Hobbs Rehabilitation patient, which you can read all about here. We were thrilled to showcase this eye-opening case study at RehabWeek 2025, in a joint session led by Laura Marriott and Ivan Isakov. Ivan said that Valkyrie Industries was “very happy to see v-health and our eir bands being embraced by therapists and patients in a real clinical setting. The feedback from both therapist and patient has been invaluable, showing that v-health can seamlessly integrate into therapy sessions while also highlighting opportunities for further refinement”.
Laura Marriott, Specialist Neurological Occupational Therapist at Hobbs Rehabilitation, and Education Lead at The MiNT Academy, said the following about the integration of Valkyrie Industries’ products into her therapeutic interventions: “Trialling Valkyrie’s v-health XR solution. Using Valkyrie’s VR FES device in our outpatient clinic for upper limb rehabilitation has been a transformative experience. The intuitive interface and ease of use made it seamless to integrate into therapy sessions, allowing both clinicians and patients to focus on the treatment itself. Our stroke patient was highly engaged throughout, and following a short but intensive course of therapy, we were pleased to see a noticeable improvement in wrist range of movement, an encouraging step forward in the patient’s recovery journey”.
At Hobbs Rehabilitation, we are so excited to continue this journey with Valkyrie Industries and see where it takes us. We are already seeing promising results in patient outcomes from using their devices, and look forward to seeing all the possibilities for patients that will come with integrating eir bands and v-health into our everyday practice.
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Alison Watt
Head of Clinical Operations
Alison is Head of Clinical Operations for The MiNT Academy. With over 10 years of clinical experience within specialist neurological services, Alison previously worked in the NHS specialising in stroke and neurorehabilitation.
As a previous NHS AHP Ward Manager, Alison has always worked within innovative therapy roles. This continues at The MiNT Academy, a growing neurotechnology platform combining clinical education and product development.
As a previous NHS AHP Ward Manager, Alison has always worked within innovative therapy roles. This continues at The MiNT Academy, a growing neurotechnology platform combining clinical education and product development.
Alison coordinates research, development and education activities to enable increased accessibility to clinically effective devices.
As Principle Investigator in technology trials, she has aided the development of devices from concept to market, with recent focusses on Virtual Reality and Exoskeletons. Alison has presented at and organised numerous national and international conferences, including as MiNT Chair at RehabWeek 2022. She has also completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Medical Education and lectures at multiple UK academic institutions.
Alongside this, Alison works clinically at Hobbs Rehabilitation Intensive Neurotherapy Centre in Bristol, combining the use of therapy devices with conventional hands-on treatment, for outpatients with a variety of neurological conditions. Alison uses all of her roles to passionately drive forward the use of neurotechnology in clinical practice to optimise opportunities and outcomes for patients.
As Principle Investigator in technology trials, she has aided the development of devices from concept to market, with recent focusses on Virtual Reality and Exoskeletons. Alison has presented at and organised numerous national and international conferences, including as MiNT Chair at RehabWeek 2022. She has also completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Medical Education and lectures at multiple UK academic institutions.
Alongside this, Alison works clinically at Hobbs Rehabilitation Intensive Neurotherapy Centre in Bristol, combining the use of therapy devices with conventional hands-on treatment, for outpatients with a variety of neurological conditions. Alison uses all of her roles to passionately drive forward the use of neurotechnology in clinical practice to optimise opportunities and outcomes for patients.
Helen Hobbs
The MiNT Academy Development Team
Helen is a specialist neurological physiotherapist with over 25 years of specialist clinical experience and extensive clinical skills including advanced Bobath training. She has a special interest inclinical education, training and research. Helen has held postgraduate clinical training roles at both Kings College NHS Hospital London Neuroscience Centre and Southampton University Hospital NHS Trust before establishing Hobbs Rehabilitation in 2005.
Helen's teaching and leadership skills resulted in international scholarships and fellowships taking Helen to the USA and South Africa. She has presented both nationally and internationally. Helen has close links with several academic institutions including Southampton, Imperial College, Loughborough , Portsmouth and Winchester Universities to provide clinical leadership for the design of future healthcare technologies and research projects.
Her publications have included the effects of robotic assisted gait training on vascular health in strokes and spinal cord injured patients and the European rehabilitation guidelines for MS patients post stem cell transplant.
Amy Dennis-Jones
The MiNT Academy Research Lead
Amy has over 20 years experience working within the field of Neurological rehabilitation. She has worked with a variety of settings capturing the full rehabilitation pathway from acute through to the community.
Since working for Hobbs Rehabilitation in 2015, Amy has worked with an array of neurotechnologies and is a trained Rewalk exoskeleton clinician. She has presented at varying conference and study days, and is on the local committee for ACPIN, a specialist interest group for physiotherapists working in Neurology.
Amy's position within Hobbs Rehabilitation has evolved into a split clinical and research role. She is part of the core development team working on MiNT, an innovative neurotechnology platform combining clinical education and product development as well as leading on research projects and further collaborations.
Outside of physiotherapy, Amy is a qualified yoga teacher and combines her experience with rehabilitation to teach chair/adaptive yoga classes.
Chrissy Bibby
The MiNT Academy Events Lead
Chrissy has worked in the field of adult acquired neurological speech and language therapy for over 15 years, initially in the NHS before joining Hobbs Rehabilitation, where she leads the Speech & Language therapy team. Clinically, she has a special interest in motor speech disorders and rehabilitation of the facial nerve.
Chrissy trained as a teacher before embarking on her career in neurological rehabilitation and enjoys using her teaching skills in all areas of her work with Hobbs Rehabilitation and MiNT.
As Events Lead for The MiNT Academy, Chrissy is embracing the opportunity to discuss with fellow clinicians, academics and industry partners the benefits of using neurotechnology with our communication impaired clients, while encouraging further development in this vital area.
Outside of speech and language therapy, Chrissy enjoys swimming, singing with her local rock choir, baking, sewing, and camping with her family.
Chrissy trained as a teacher before embarking on her career in neurological rehabilitation and enjoys using her teaching skills in all areas of her work with Hobbs Rehabilitation and MiNT.
As Events Lead for The MiNT Academy, Chrissy is embracing the opportunity to discuss with fellow clinicians, academics and industry partners the benefits of using neurotechnology with our communication impaired clients, while encouraging further development in this vital area.
Outside of speech and language therapy, Chrissy enjoys swimming, singing with her local rock choir, baking, sewing, and camping with her family.
Laura Marriott
The MiNT Academy Education Lead
Laura is a specialist Neurological Occupational Therapist with 15 years of experience, over 12 years of which is in the neurological sector. Laura has worked in the NHS from acute care through to community rehabilitation and outpatients and now works in the private sector where she is the lead Occupational Therapist for Hobbs Intensive outpatient rehabilitation service, coordinating intensive rehabilitation packages and treating patients with complex neurological requirements.
Her role within Hobbs has evolved and she has split clinical and research responsibilities. She is part of the MiNT Academy Development Team who have delivered an innovative neurotechnology platform combining clinical education and product development. Her role also involves leading on research projects and further collaborations. Laura has expert clinical skills used to implement neuro assistive and rehabilitation technology into functional contexts building the links between the companies and the patients. Laura presented at Virtual RehabWeek 2021 and is excited to be presenting at RehabWeek 2022 in Rotterdam, showcasing the merits and application of collaboration between skilled clinicians and engineers to create a device that has longevity with both clinicians and patients alike.
Outside of Hobbs Laura enjoys a busy family life, hiking, roller skating and painting.
Lizzie Williams
The MiNT Academy Development Team
Lizzie is a Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist working at Hobbs Rehabilitation since May 2020. She also has a background in orthopaedics, frailty and inpatient rehabilitation. Lizzie jumped at the opportunity to be involved in The MiNT Academy to combine her interest in technology and love for providing high quality rehabilitation for patients. Lizzie brings the perspective of a physiotherapist who routinely utilises neurotechnology with patients as well as teaching and supporting other clinicians in embedding it into practice.
Rachael Edwards
The MiNT Academy Development Team
Rachael Edwards developed a specialist interest in the role of technology in upper limb neurorehabilitation, whilst working as an Occupational Therapist on the upper limb program at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square.
Rachael has relocated to Bristol and is setting up an Occupational Therapy service at Hobbs Rehabilitation Intensive Neurotherapy Centre, where she continues to explore the use of technology to support delivering intensive upper limb rehabilitation.
Louis Martinelli
The MiNT Academy Development Team
With degrees in Sport & Exercise Science (BSc) and Physiotherapy (MSc pre-registration), Louis has over 15 years’ experience of working in neurological rehabilitation.
Trained in the Ekso GT, ReWalk and the Able Exoskeleton, Louis has 10 years’ of hands-on experience with these types of devices with a variety of medical conditions at Hobbs Rehabilitation. In this time, he also trialed a number of other exoskeletons on the market with the aim of exploring what fits the clinical and functional needs of the patient.
Louis has helped establish a research partnership between Hobbs Rehabilitation with The University of Winchester, which in 2019 published an article on the effects exoskeleton rehabilitation can have on the vascular system in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. Louis has also contributed to publications for the Bionic Leg (Clinical Rehabilitation, 2020) and more recently the GMove Suit (PLOS One, 2025) with the University of Southampton.
In 2022 Louis was on the expert panel for the M.O.T.I.O.N project, exploring mechanical orthosis for children with neurological disorders. He is currently project managing the UK government funded, multi centered, Eurostars Project FREEDOM which looks to establish the first exoskeleton designed for people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Trained in the Ekso GT, ReWalk and the Able Exoskeleton, Louis has 10 years’ of hands-on experience with these types of devices with a variety of medical conditions at Hobbs Rehabilitation. In this time, he also trialed a number of other exoskeletons on the market with the aim of exploring what fits the clinical and functional needs of the patient.
Louis has helped establish a research partnership between Hobbs Rehabilitation with The University of Winchester, which in 2019 published an article on the effects exoskeleton rehabilitation can have on the vascular system in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. Louis has also contributed to publications for the Bionic Leg (Clinical Rehabilitation, 2020) and more recently the GMove Suit (PLOS One, 2025) with the University of Southampton.
In 2022 Louis was on the expert panel for the M.O.T.I.O.N project, exploring mechanical orthosis for children with neurological disorders. He is currently project managing the UK government funded, multi centered, Eurostars Project FREEDOM which looks to establish the first exoskeleton designed for people with Multiple Sclerosis.
Barry Richards
Head of Commercial Operations
Barry brings extensive expertise in the medical device industry and healthcare markets from across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific. Renowned as a subject matter expert, he possesses deep knowledge of exoskeleton technology and the neurological MedTech rehabilitation sector.
With over a decade of commercial experience, Barry has worked with leading neurological rehabilitation MedTech companies in various roles, including clinical, business development, market access, and commercial operations. He has successfully assisted multiple organisations in shaping their business development, sales, marketing, and clinical strategy plans at different stages of commercialisation.
With over a decade of commercial experience, Barry has worked with leading neurological rehabilitation MedTech companies in various roles, including clinical, business development, market access, and commercial operations. He has successfully assisted multiple organisations in shaping their business development, sales, marketing, and clinical strategy plans at different stages of commercialisation.
Barry has held director-level and senior management positions at both global and European levels. He also has a strong clinical background in physiotherapy, with significant experience in the neurological rehabilitation field, and demonstrates a high level of competency in operating advanced technologies.
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