The future of rehabilitation: How Jane Wang is revolutionising stroke recovery with robotics

For patients recovering from strokes and neurological conditions, rehabilitation is often a slow and arduous process. However, Jane Wang, who co-founded Roceso Technologies in 2016, is changing that narrative with soft robotic solutions designed to enhance mobility and independence.

Jane’s journey into medtech robotics was driven by a vision to bridge the gap between technology and healthcare. “As a trained robotics engineer with more than 10 years of industrial experience in multiple disciplines, a medtech robotic company makes sense,” she says. She saw this as a meaningful opportunity to support individuals with disabilities and neurological disorders, inspiring her to make a tangible impact through her soft robotic technologies.

At the heart of Roceso Technologies is the EsoGlove, an innovative wearable device that aids patients in regaining hand function, and is especially popular with stroke patients who are partially paralysed and may have limited mobility in their hands, shoulders and elbows. Unlike traditional rehabilitation tools, the EsoGlove is lightweight, adaptable, and provides patients with a more natural and intuitive way to regain movement.

Much like any successful innovation, creating the EsoGlove came with its own set of challenges. Jane shares: “Due to my background in robotics, I understood how challenging it is to develop a hand exoskeleton with traditional robotics, which is known for heavy and rigid components and [pose] potential danger to patients’ joints.”

Having spent three years in research and development, Jane expressed some of the issues she faced behind the production, such as the translation work from a lab prototype to a product suitable for mass production, as well as finding suppliers for soft robotics.

However, with wearable robotics like EsoGlove, these innovations are transforming rehabilitation therapy and assistive care by reducing manpower needs, improving treatment efficacy for severe hand disabilities, and enhancing patient engagement through gamification.

Still, major gaps in rehabilitation care remain, including the lack of strong evidence to support reimbursement for neurorehabilitation.

“There are many gaps in rehabilitation care today. This is exciting because they mean opportunities for innovation and further improvement,” shares Jane. Roceso is addressing this by conducting clinical trials to build evidence for improved insurance coverage. Additionally, stringent regulations on patient data access pose challenges, but the company is developing secure cloud-based platforms for telerehabilitation to balance data protection with effective treatment analysis.

Pushing the boundaries of neurorehabilitation with wearable robotics is not the only thing on Jane’s agenda – she is also expanding its impact through innovative healthcare solutions. Beyond developing advanced assistive technologies, such as like the CygniConnect platform for home rehabilitation, the company is integrating AI-driven features to enhance patient care.

As Roceso Technologies continues to expand, Jane’s vision remains clear: to make rehabilitation more efficient, empowering patients to regain control of their lives faster and more effectively.

Brought to you in partnership with Singtel, the inspiring Innovators featured in our SG60 issue are women who are driving Singapore’s progress through their bold choices and achievements. With their stories of resilience, reinvention and selflessness, we hope to inspire and empower the next generation of women to take charge of their paths and turn possibilities into reality. Singtel wishes all women a Happy International Women’s Day and Happy SG60.

To learn more about the 60 women who have shaped Singapore as we know it today, click here.