About Us
Meet Our Team
Utku Pehlivan, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Utku is a Rice University-trained roboticist who pioneered exoskeletal systems for neuro-rehabilitation, tested clinically at UTHealth. His work spans 18 publications with over 1,300 citations, translating cutting-edge research directly into patient care.
Kutay Pehlivan
Co-Founder, Chief Technology Officer
Kutay is a mechanical engineer with over a decade bringing medical devices from concept to market, including three devices now in clinical use. At HoustonBionics, he leads scalable, regulation-ready hardware development and manufacturing for exoskeletal devices.
Yagiz C. Sisman
Co-Founder, Chief Business Officer
Yagiz co-founded a healthcare platform reaching 20M patients through U.S. health system partnerships, and led regional expansion at Seven Bridges, acquired by Summa Equity. At HoustonBionics, he drives strategic partnerships, market strategy, and growth.
How we think about recovery
Stroke recovery depends on high volumes of purposeful, repetitive movement thousands of them, every day to drive neuroplastic change. The science is clear. The challenge is making it happen consistently, at home, without a therapist standing next to you.
ExoRehab X was designed to make that possible. Not by replacing the therapist but by extending their reach into every day that isn't a clinic day.
Active. Every movement is started by the patient. The device assists only as needed.
Gamified. Interactive games keep patients motivated and coming back every day.
Connected. Clinicians track progress remotely. Multiplayer keeps patients from recovering alone.
Where we started
HoustonBionics grew out of a direct observation: the patients who needed the most rehabilitation were consistently the ones with the least access to it.
Working alongside stroke survivors and their clinical teams, we saw the same pattern over and over. People left rehab improving — then came home, lost the structure, and stalled. Not because they gave up. Because the support disappeared the moment the clinic door closed.
That gap is where we work.
Scientific Advisory Board
Marcia O'Malley, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation
Rice University
Nuray Yozbatiran PT, Ph.D.
Associate Professor for Research, Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
McGovern Medical School, UTHealth
Engin Cakar, MD
Chair, Stroke Focused Neuro-recovery Center
Memorial HealthCare Group
Ozkan Celik, Ph.D.
Sr. Robotics Researcher
Applied Materials
Atilla Ertan, MD
Professor Emeritus, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
UT Health / Memorial Hermann
Yasmin Shah
Founder and President — VillageCore / Lead AgeTech Investor, NuFund Venture Group
Our Investors
