Encora Therapeutics developed an FDA-cleared wearable treatment for essential tremor from a prototype originally created by MIT students as part of the university’s 2.009 Product Engineering Processes course.
The project began in 2017 when a student team developed a wrist-worn device that uses mechanical vibrations to send signals through the wrist and influence neural systems involved in movement.
During the team’s final presentation, a patient with Parkinson’s disease demonstrated the prototype and experienced a dramatic reduction in his hand tremor.
Interest generated by that demonstration led several members of the team to continue developing the technology after the class ended.
The team used MIT entrepreneurial resources including MIT Sandbox, MIT FUSE, and the MIT Venture Mentoring Service.
In 2020, the project became Encora Therapeutics.
The company was founded by members of the original student group, including Daniel Carballo, Allison Davanzo, and Kyle Pina.
Encora subsequently completed numerous hardware iterations and clinical studies.
In one trial, 78% of patients reported benefits after 90 days of using the device at home.
In February 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the device for adults with essential tremor, a neurological condition that causes involuntary shaking, frequently affecting the hands.
The clearance came approximately nine years after the original MIT classroom demonstration.
Encora’s development illustrates how an academic design project can progress through prototyping, company formation, clinical testing, regulatory review, and commercialization.
KEY QUOTES:
“It’s been a long and difficult — very difficult — journey, but also very rewarding, especially when we get feedback from patients.”
“It showed us there were a lot of people with this problem that could really benefit from this.”
Daniel Carballo, Co-Founder and Vice President of Strategy at Encora Therapeutics
