EmotEd LLC, an Indiana University startup that aims to treat emotional deficits linked to traumatic brain injuries, has partnered with Broad Ripple-based design and development firm DeveloperTown to produce a therapeutic video game that EmotEd hopes to market.

So far, DeveloperTown’s collaboration with EmotEd, along with faculty at the IU School of Medicine and the IU School of Informatics and Computing has produced a “wireframe” model of how EmotEd’s Emotion Builder platform will function, said Michael Cloran, the design firm’s managing partner.

Planned applications of the platform, proposed by IUSM assistant research professor and EmotEd founder Dawn Neumann (above left), go beyond an initial focus on traumatic brain injuries. They also include therapies for stroke patients, people with autism, schizophrenia sufferers and military veterans who experience post-traumatic stress disorder.

EmotEd’s work with DeveloperTown began shortly after the company — hatched from the IU Research and Technology Corp.’s Spin Up program — received a $194,575 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award from the National Institutes of Health in June. The grant was later met with $50,000 in matching funds from Elevate Ventures, a nonprofit organization that provides state dollars to promising, early-stage entrepreneurs who have received funding through small business grants.

Neumann said the model allows potential investors to easily see EmotEd’s vision for treating emotion deficits and the value of its approach. To fully develop the Emotion Builder platform, EmotEd will need additional funding through a Phase II STTR grant or private investments.

Read more about EmotEd’s work with DeveloperTown here: