Chariot Innovations
Chariot Innovations is a start-up company that helps individuals with physical, psychological or cognitive limitations through an innovative therapeutic device that mimics the natural motion of horseback riding and provides the benefits of hippotherapy in a clinical setting. The device, called MiraColt, is the result of research by Brian Garner, Ph.D., an associate professor of mechanical engineering in Baylor's School of Engineering and Computer Science and one of the company's founders.
Allen Page, the chairman of Chariot Innovations, says that in addition to the BRIC’s convenient location for collaboration with Baylor researchers, the company has also benefited from the university's Lab to Market (L2M) Collaborative.
"The L2M group helped Chariot locate financing, located the management team that's running the company and surrounded Dr. Garner with businesspeople that are helping to turn his dream into a reality," said Page.
Garner and an interdisciplinary team of Baylor faculty were recently awarded a grant of nearly $600,000 from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to study the effectiveness of the MiraColt as a treatment for children with autism.