HeadStrait Labs Secures Investment from Richard King Mellon Foundation to Make Ambulance Transport Safer for Patients with Brain and Spine Injuries
Funding supports manufacturing readiness, partnership expansion and continued development of EVAC-1 and SMARTmotion, an integrated hardware and analytics platform for prehospital trauma care
PITTSBURGH, July 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HeadStrait Labs, a medical technology company redefining emergency transportation for traumatic brain, head, neck and spine injuries, announced a $350,000 lead investment from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. The investment will support manufacturing readiness, continued product development and regional partnerships in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties with EMS agencies, hospitals, rural health providers, athletics programs and senior living communities. The Foundation’s backing also helped catalyze additional venture capital investment and grant support, bringing the company’s total raised to more than $680,000.
Each year, 12.7 million people in the U.S. experience a head or neck injury that requires immobilization and emergency transportation. Yet up to 25% may experience a secondary injury during ambulance transport. The tools used to stabilize patients, including long spine boards, head blocks and cervical collars, have seen little innovation since the 1960s. These legacy devices often do not fit properly, provide no real-time feedback or post-event data.
“So much medical innovation is focused inside the OR or ER, but the critical window with EMS has been overlooked,” said Alyssa Theroux, co-founder of HeadStrait Labs. “We believe better tools and better data can help protect patients during one of the most vulnerable parts of their care journey.”
Founded in 2023, HeadStrait is addressing that gap with EVAC-1, a compact head-and-neck stabilization splint, and SMARTmotion, its sensor-enabled technology and analytics dashboard. Together, the system is designed to help responders monitor patient movement, improve stabilization, and give providers visibility into what happened before the patient arrived. EVAC-1 is designed for two-responder application, aligning with the staffing realities of many EMS calls and supporting use in ambulances, athletic settings, interfacility transport and rural response environments.
The company is advised by Dr. Leonard Weiss, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and medical director for the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety and EMS. The company’s work is also backed by clinical research and informed by testing with providers and patients, including pilots with UPMC. Early clinical validation studies have proven that 79% of patients preferred EVAC-1 over a standard cervical collar.
“This investment helps us move from pilots and promising field feedback toward the manufacturing readiness, testing and partnerships needed for broader adoption,” said Mary Squire, co-founder of HeadStrait Labs.
The Richard King Mellon Foundation’s investment in HeadStrait Labs is made through its Social-Impact Investment Program, through which the Foundation invests in for-profit startups with a social mission aligned with its philanthropic strategy. The Foundation has invested more than $32 million in 78 impact-focused companies.
To learn more about HeadStrait Labs, visit https://www.headstraitlabs.com/.
About HeadStrait Labs
HeadStrait Labs is a medical technology company redefining emergency transportation for traumatic brain, head, neck and spine injuries. To learn more, visit: https://www.headstraitlabs.com/.
About the Richard King Mellon Foundation
Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in Southwestern Pennsylvania, and one of the 50 largest in the world. The Foundation's 2025 year-end net assets were $3.3 billion, and its Trustees in 2025 disbursed more than $167 million in grants and program-related investments. The Foundation focuses its funding on six primary program areas, delineated in its 2021-2030 Strategic Plan.
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