Anway Pimpalkar, a talented biomedical engineering student at Johns Hopkins University and a proud son of Pune, Maharashtra, is making global waves with an innovation that could transform healthcare for the aging population.
As he prepares to graduate later this month with a master’s degree, Pimpalkar already has an impressive achievement to his name, co-founding Re-Kinesis, a cutting-edge wearable foot sensor that essentially turns any pair of shoes into a portable gait lab.
This breakthrough technology has been recognized as a finalist in the National Institute on Aging’s 2025 Start-Up Challenge, an elite program spotlighting science-driven innovations that can meaningfully improve care for aging populations.
From a competitive pool of nearly 300 applications, Re-Kinesis stood out for its ability to bring high-end clinical gait analysis to the everyday lives of older adults, without the need for expensive, hard-to-access labs.
A South Asian Changemaker at the Forefront of Innovation
Pimpalkar’s journey from Pune to Johns Hopkins reflects a deeper story of South Asian excellence and the power of global education.
While working as a teaching assistant in a biomedical instrumentation course, he met Junjen Chen, a fellow biomedical engineering student.
Their shared curiosity, paired with mentorship from Johns Hopkins faculty, led them to a pivotal realization: gait assessment, which is crucial for monitoring stroke recovery, diagnosing neurological issues, and predicting fall risks in elderly individuals, is out of reach for many due to its high cost and complexity.
That insight sparked the idea for Re-Kinesis. Instead of relying on labs filled with cameras and treadmills, why not condense the entire setup into a wearable insole?
“What if we took the whole lab and shrunk it down to your shoe?”, Anway Pimpalkar
The insole captures a range of metrics, including step cadence, balance, and lower limb movement, providing doctors with the same valuable data they’d get from a high-end gait lab, but in a format patients can use daily at home.
Innovation with Real-World Impact
With support from Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program, Anway and the Re-Kinesis team were awarded $10,000 and selected for a prestigious summer accelerator program at the National Institute on Aging.
They now continue refining the product, developing an intuitive interface for doctors and patients, and engaging with potential partners, including hospitals and even the U.S. Military Academy’s sports medicine department.
For Pimpalkar, this journey is about more than just invention, it’s about accessibility, empowerment, and equity in healthcare.
“It’s up to us to leverage these connections and resources to the fullest,” he shares.
“Regardless of whether we win the grand prize, this journey is already a win, for us, and for the communities we hope to serve.”
A Role Model for South Asian Youth
Anway Pimpalkar’s leadership in biomedical innovation stands as an inspiring example for aspiring South Asian engineers, scientists, and healthcare changemakers.
His work reflects the spirit of innovation deeply rooted in purpose: creating solutions that can touch lives across socioeconomic boundaries.
As Re-Kinesis moves closer to market, the spotlight on Pimpalkar grows brighter, not just for his ingenuity but for his unwavering commitment to making health technologies accessible for all.
