By the time John Whelan graduated from The Catholic University of America in Washington this year, the business major was already an entrepreneur thanks in part to the Venture Lab at the university’s business school. A medical device that he started designing in his dorm room could revolutionize scoliosis treatment and now has a provisional patent.
The inspiration came from his own experience. “I’ve been going to a chiropractor throughout my whole life. I’ve played football at Catholic University, and the treatments I’ve received help me improve my game,” said Whelan.
He cold-called Dr. Justin Dick, a chiropractor in his home state of North Carolina who specializes in scoliosis treatment, and asked if he could shadow him.
The practice uses a protocol that includes a counterweight-based device that helps straighten patients’ spines and strengthen their muscles by using their own body weight in brief daily sessions from the comfort of their own home.
“It was life-changing for these people. I knew I wanted to be a part of this,” Whelan said.
The challenge was each device had to be custom-made for each patient, but many patients were unable to travel for a consultation. Whelan and Dick created an LLC called Skolios to find a way to make this solution accessible beyond the practice.
They worked together for more than a year to design a device adaptable to a wide range of heights that can be mass-produced and sold directly to doctors as a noninvasive approach at a fraction of the cost of standard scoliosis treatment.
“This new venture is setting John apart in the chiropractic field,” said Dick, noting a patient’s reduction of scoliosis by 10 degrees in just two months. “This is revolutionary. He will change people’s lives.”
They are in the process of submitting the promising results for publication in a medical journal.
“If we can teach some other doctors to be able to use this tool, we might be able to save patients from expensive surgeries and uncomfortable treatments,” Dick said.
A key part of the cost saving is Whelan’s focus on a design that minimizes the need for customized parts. An early prototype utilized an airplane seatbelt, poles from truck cargo beds, and a part from a fencepost. Whelan knew he was onto something, but his project was quickly outgrowing his dorm room.
He needed more resources and more space to take his idea to the next level. He turned to the Venture Lab at the Busch School of Business’ Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship, an incubator for ideas and innovation led by alumni Brian Walsh and Francesco Brown.
Whelan enrolled in the lab’s entrepreneurship course and later received a summer fellowship from the center to build his brand. They connected Whelan with the university’s engineering department, where Gregory Behrmann, a biomedical engineering clinical associate professor, trained him to use the department’s makerspace and create custom 3D printed components — with the help of some engineering students.
Whelan said he found a supportive community at Catholic U.
The Venture Lab also connected Whelan to off-campus resources, including a patent attorney and a nationwide network of alumni invested in the success of the next generation of Cardinals.
Now, Whelan is starting chiropractic school. He’s built the third beta test model, which he is pitching to investors.
“The Venture Lab class has helped me make this a reality,” he said. “They’ve been a key part of the process. I hope to continue my relationship with both the Lab and the Ciocca Center after I graduate because of all the resources they offer.”
Barillas is senior writer in Catholic U.’s communications division.
