Where did the idea of BackHug come from?

Chongsu Lee, a former Hyundai engineer in Seoul, transitioned careers to pursue his passion for health, retraining as a physiotherapist in Edinburgh, UK.

He discovered that reducing spinal joint stiffness significantly improved conditions ranging from back pain and related body pain (like headaches, Achilles tendonitis, or golfer's elbow) to neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's.

However, a major challenge emerged: manually releasing joint stiffness required applying sustained thumb pressure to patients' backs for 30 minutes, day after day. This repetitive strain was unsustainable and caused an immense physical toll on Chongsu.

Leveraging his engineering background, he conceived BackHug: a robotic solution to make this effective treatment accessible and affordable.