LEGS Medical / ExoGlider
Manual Mobility and Rehabilitation Technology — From Clinic to Home
LEGS Medical is developing a platform of manual mobility and rehabilitation devices designed to support individuals with impaired mobility — in the clinic and at home. The project illustrates Dr. Boyd's role in taking a user-driven clinical need and translating it into a mechanical device concept, a prototype development pathway, and a coherent venture strategy.
A Mobility and Rehabilitation Device for the Clinic and Home
For individuals with impaired mobility, rehabilitation often begins in a clinical setting and ends there. Clinic-based therapy can be effective, but the transition from structured rehabilitation to independent movement at home remains one of the most difficult gaps in mobility care. Patients may improve during supervised sessions but lack the right tools to continue meaningful movement on their own.
Existing mobility aids address part of the problem. Wheelchairs support independence but don't promote upright posture and gait-like movement. Traditional walkers and crutches require significant upper body strength and coordination. Powered exoskeletons offer promise but come with cost, weight, and operational complexity that limits real-world adoption for many patients.
The need LEGS Medical is pursuing is practical and underserved: a device that supports natural gait-like mobility for patients who can benefit from movement assistance but don't need or can't access expensive powered solutions.
A Two-Device Platform: Clinic-Based Rehabilitation and Home-Based Mobility
LEGS Medical is developing two complementary concepts designed to work together across the care continuum.
The ExoTrainer is positioned as a clinic-based rehabilitation unit — designed to support structured therapy sessions where patients work with clinicians to rebuild strength, coordination, and movement patterns in a controlled environment.
The ExoGlider is designed for home use — a manually operated, non-powered mobility device that supports gait-like movement without requiring supplemental crutches or a second person. Key design features include a sit-to-stand seat, elliptical-style ergonomic handles, ground-contact drive mechanism, and a form factor optimized for maneuverability in real-world home environments. The goal is a patient-specific device that individuals can use independently, extending the benefits of clinical rehabilitation into everyday life.
Together the two concepts reflect a clinic-to-home pathway — recognizing that meaningful mobility outcomes require continuity of support, not just access to therapy.
Recognized Innovation, Student-Led Development
LEGS Medical has received support through the Relentless Challenge grant program, with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Clemson University Research Foundation (CURF). That recognition reflects both the strength of the clinical need and the quality of the team advancing it.
The project has been developed with the initiative and guidance of the founder of I Got Legs, Adam Gorlitsky, and the involvement of a student engineering team working alongside Dr. Boyd and with support from an outside design firm, EngineerAid — a direct example of the kind of founder and team mentoring that connects his Clemson teaching role to real medical device innovation. The student team has contributed to concept development, prototype work, market assessment, risk mitigation, and early-stage venture planning under Dr. Boyd's guidance.
Translating a Clinical Need Into a Buildable, Fundable Venture
Dr. Boyd's involvement with LEGS Medical spans the full early-stage development process — from helping frame the clinical need and device concept through prototype strategy, regulatory thinking, reimbursement considerations, and venture formation.
This is the kind of work where his combined background is most valuable: understanding the clinical problem clearly enough to define the right device, understanding the regulatory and development landscape well enough to build a credible pathway, and understanding the venture side well enough to position the technology for funding and partnership conversations.
LEGS Medical is an active and evolving project. As the platform develops, it represents one of the more distinctive areas of Dr. Boyd's innovation portfolio — a manually operated mobility solution designed around what patients actually need to keep moving on their own.
