Wave Therapeutics, a woman-owned, Nashville-based startup company, has finalized a cooperative research and development agreement with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Innovation Ecosystem.

Under this agreement the VHA Innovation Ecosystem and Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center will collaborate with Wave Therapeutics on the design and development of the company’s initial product, a wheelchair seat cushion that is designed to reduce the risk of pressure injuries (bedsores).

Company founder Jessica Bussert, a registered nurse, said she is thrilled to have caught the attention of the VHA Innovation Ecosystem.

“I founded this company after caring for a veteran who was suffering from the worst bedsores I had ever seen,” Bussert said. “He was my inspiration, and being able to work with Veterans Health to bring this product to their patients is very gratifying.”

Bedsores cost the United States economy over $10 billion each year and kill 60,000 Americans, Bussert said. She has developed a patent-pending technology that she believes will change the way medical professionals approach this problem, which currently affects more than 3 million Americans annually.

Bussert brought on Dr. Ricardo Vasquez as chief medical officer. Vasquez is a board-certified vascular surgeon from the Vascular Center and Vein Clinic in Bloomington.

Their solution is to use a combination of alternating pressure and sequential compression, whereas other devices on the market use a single process of alternating pressure. “By joining the two of those together,” Bussert said, “the leading researchers have told us that our product will be better than anything on the market.”

Wave Therapeutics expects to enter the marketplace with their initial product later this year. Their technology has applications in the healthcare, automotive, airline, military and consumer markets.