Sports-related concussions occur at a rate of seven per minute in the United States, according to research published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation. The aftereffects of a mild traumatic brain injury, as the medical community refers to concussions, can include persistent headaches, balance issues, memory problems and a host of other issues.
Synaptek, a Lexington-based company formed in the spring of 2019, has developed a mobile-first platform to help diagnose concussions in athletes more quickly and effectively at the incident scene or as soon afterward as possible. The platform also keeps track of all data points collected during the assessment process, including documentation, for optimized clinical decisions and improved diagnosis and rehabilitation.
Synaptek founders Doug Van Pelt, Kate Van Pelt and James McCollum
“Making an accurate and timely diagnosis is important to improve recovery,” said Synaptek co-founder and CEO Kate Van Pelt. “Over the past two decades, increased research on concussion has shown the consequences for athlete safety if a concussion is not properly diagnosed and treated.
“We do not just want to digitize the status quo but reimagine concussion assessment and be a leading resource in the concussion field via our proprietary technology, research and educational resources,” Van Pelt said.
Van Pelt grew up playing ice hockey in New England and played at the collegiate level for College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
Realizing she could merge her passions for ice hockey and the brain by studying concussions, she went to the University of Michigan for a master’s in clinical research design and statistical analysis and then earned a doctorate in kinesiology and exercise science.
“The idea for Synaptek slowly grew in my mind as I went through my roles as an ice hockey player, psychology major and then concussion researcher,” she said. “I worked with researchers and clinicians and saw how nuanced and complicated concussion care is.”
Synaptek’s mobile app helps medical providers diagnose and treat concussions more quickly and efficiently.
The name Synaptek blends the words synapse and technology. “We chose ‘synapse’ because these are the junctions in the brain that provide information back and forth between neurons,” she said. “We want Synaptek to leverage technology to make concussion assessment and communication seamless for athletes, medical providers, parents and coaches.”
The company’s clients are college athletic departments, high schools, outpatient clinics, sports leagues and athletic organizations that provide medical and athletic training services. “Each of these clients has medical providers who use Synaptek to help care for their athletes before, during and after a concussion,” she said.
It was at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor that she met her husband, Doug Van Pelt, originally from New Jersey, who was earning his Ph.D. in exercise physiology. The two moved to Lexington in 2018 to work at the University of Kentucky as post-doctoral researchers. Doug Van Pelt is COO of Synaptek. He has an undergrad degree from Rutgers University and a master’s from the University of Texas.
Native Lexingtonian James McCollum is chief of product. He grew up playing football and experienced the effects of concussions firsthand. Over the past decade, McCollum’s focus in the tech industry has been on software development, design, user experience and marketing.
Synaptek operates out of the coworking space at Awesome Inc in downtown Lexington. Kate Van Pelt credits the Entrepreneurs Bootcamp for shaving years off the process of bringing Synaptek to market.
“Warren Nash, Mariam Gorjian and Christine Wildes do a fantastic job getting individuals and groups with ideas on the path to creating a viable business,” she said.
The Entrepreneurs Bootcamp is a program within the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship at UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics. “As a community member of the bootcamp, I learned about entrepreneurship, business, customer discovery, and was able to refine and validate that my idea could be a viable business,” she said.
In its earliest days, the Van Pelts and McCollum held other full-time jobs while they worked nights and weekends on Synaptek, wrapping up customer discovery, raising a friends and family round of funding, launching a beta product and landing their first customer. Within two years, they were awarded a research grant by the National Science Foundation. They recently raised a seed round to enable all three to be full-time with Synaptek and make their first additional hire.
Synaptek joined the Launch Blue pre-seed accelerator, a program run by Eric Hartman and Laura Halligan on behalf of the UK Office of Technology Commercialization and eight other organizations and businesses, including Commerce Lexington, Kentucky Small Business Development Center, Awesome Inc, Base 110 and Bullard.
“The Launch Blue program was a great next step for Synaptek and helped us reach the next phase of our company,” Van Pelt said. “We are also in the Awesome Inc Fellowship, which has been a great way to connect with other founders and come together to learn from each other’s experiences, wins and struggles.”
Synaptek was one of 70 entrepreneurs and startups participating in the 2021 Lexington Entrepreneurship Impact Survey, sponsored by Commerce Lexington and the UK Office of Technology Commercialization. Kate Van Pelt was awarded the 2021 Femalefounded Startup of the Year.
“Lexington is a community that brings founders and companies together to help each other and has been extremely supportive throughout Synaptek’s journey,” she said. “We are excited for what 2022 has to bring!”