In an effort to transform the state of neurological health care, Wilmington-based SportGait announced that they have strategically merged with Chapel Hill’s Heads Together Health (HTH) to form the startup NeuroTech Insights.
As stated in the official press release, this strategic partnership will “revolutionize the landscape of neurofunctional health.”
HTH was previously the previous subject of this late 2023 feature profiling its concussion management and data platform. The startup’s solution enabled clinicians and their patients to access the patients’ concussion recovery journey and treatment plans.
But since building out HTH’s product, then-CEO Steve DeVrieze (now Chief Business Officer at NeuroTech Insights) realized that thoroughly covering a patient’s recovery journey would require more neurocognitive assessments that spanned beyond concussion-based injuries.
Enter Chris Newton’s company: SportGait.
This company patented BKG Gait and neurocognitive assessments that were built into a mobile platform with a suite of neurobehavioral tools including screeners for stress, anxiety and depression.
Per the SportGait website, BKG Gait “objectively measures dynamic postural stability and balance through… indicators of power, stride, balance, and symmetry.” (For those unfamiliar, gait is specifically defined as the walking pattern in humans.)
“Our goal [with all of the screening technology] was to make it extensive and flexible so that as the science continues, we can adapt quickly to it,” Newton said. “What we’re trying to do is ask the doctors what they need and can we give it to them very accurately? Our philosophy is to measure as many domains [as] the doctors might need in the recovery process.”
NeuroTech Insights emerges
DeVrieze and Newton met at a conference in late 2023, and by mid-2024, they realized they were a perfect match. Newton is now NeuroTech’s acting CEO.
“HTH is treatment recovery, with AI insights that are adapted along with it,” Newton said. “And now we can cover the entire patient journey from testing all the way through recovery and reintegration to an active life.”
DeVrieze further explained that the merger works perfectly because the companies combine into an end-to-end solution for clinicians and patients with the strongest, clinically reliable assessment tools available via HTH’s highly differentiated treatment and recovery platform.
“We don’t see our merger with SportGait as a pivot, but really an expansion to add additional functionality and capability for our clinicians and patients,” DeVrieze said. “Since they had the data we needed, it felt like in the immediate term, we generated a better solution for our customers in concussion management.”
The new integrated platform of NeuroTech Insights aims to address every stage of neurological care, focusing on key components such as accurate cognitive assessments, remote patient monitoring, clinician web portal and personalized treatment recommendations.
With the integration of more specified data, the platform’s AI-driven insights provide accurate and personalized analysis and treatment plans to ensure the most effective care.
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Startup: NeuroTech Insights
Co-Founders: Chris Newton (CEO) and Steve DeVrieze (CBO)
Merged: 2025
Location: Wilmington and Durham, NC
Website: https://www.neurotechinsights.com/
Funding: Closing a $2 million preferred equity raise
NeuroTech Insights’ shared vision of innovative solutions for neurological health has even caught the attention of former NFL players such as Luke Kuechly and Merril Hoge. They joined NeuroTech Insights as special advisors, “bringing their firsthand experience and advocacy for brain health and concussion awareness to the organization.” (Notably, head trauma impacted both players’ decisions to retire from professional football.)
“The most important aspect of neurofunctional condition management is care—comprehensive, structured care that ensures proper identification, evaluation, and recovery before return,” said Hoge in this press release.
“That’s why NeuroTech Insights is so critical—it provides the most comprehensive solution by integrating advanced assessments, remote monitoring, and AI-driven treatment plans, ensuring every step of the recovery process is backed by science and tailored for the individual.”
