The funding round was led by business angel investment syndicate Archangels, with participation from Eos Advisory, Old College Capital and Hanna Capital SEZC.

The Edinburgh-based business has created the Lifeglov — a soft robotic glove which can monitor key metrics related to upper limb mobility, can offer rehabilitation for both the closing and opening strength of the hand. Bioliberty’s Digital Therapy Platform provides patients with tailored exercises to help develop natural hand strength.

The new funding will allow the company to complete development of the trial product, finalise the development of its platform, obtain FDA approval and begin early commercial engagement with rehabilitation clinics in the US.

In the US alone, there are more than 800,000 strokes every year, with 88% of patients left with upper limb weakness. At the same time, there is an urgent need for at-home occupational therapy services, with demand for such services forecast to outpace the supply within all 50 states of the US by 2030.

The business was co-founded in 2020 by Rowan Armstrong (CEO), Conan Bradley (chief design), Ross O’Hanlon (CTO) and Shea Quinn (COO) and currently employs a team of seven.

Mr Armstrong said: “Our aim at Bioliberty is to empower every human to live a longer independent life by providing assistive robotics and rehabilitative technologies.

“The Lifeglov is a first step on this journey and the funding announced today will allow us to complete its development, along with our software platform, while preparing the runway for our US sales push.

“We’re confident in our technology and excited by the benefits it can deliver for both patients and occupational therapists.”

Niki McKenzie, joint managing director at Archangels, said: “Bioliberty has developed a highly effective solution for helping patients with hand weakness, with the potential to improve the quality of life for millions worldwide.

“We believe its technology has far-reaching benefits beyond this first application, providing the business with an excellent opportunity to grow quickly from its base here in Scotland.

“Archangels is excited to be supporting the team as they finalise what we hope will be the first of many products and start scaling up their sales activity.”