Some startups begin with a pitch deck. This one started with a question. “You’ve spent over 25 years developing groundbreaking cognitive rehabilitation research – how do we take it beyond academia and into the hands of the people who need it?”
That challenge, posed by Cyprus Seeds to Professor Fofi Constantinidou around three years ago, became the catalyst for CAT-BRAIN - a company with an ambitious mission to transform brain rehabilitation through technology, its name drawn from the therapeutic methodology at its core: the Categorisation Programme (CP).
As the idea evolved, so did the team. Dr. Ioulia Solomou, who had helped develop the CAT-BRAIN digital platform alongside Prof. Constantinidou, came on board as Chief Research Officer. Later, CEO Nicole Christodoulides joined, bringing expertise in business development, AI and technology adoption, followed by CTO Eric Hetzel.
What unites them all is the belief that research shouldn’t gather dust in academic journals – it should change lives. “The brain is at the centre of everything that makes us who we are – our memories, our relationships and our independence,” says Christodoulides. “Yet when cognitive abilities are affected by stroke, traumatic brain injury, long Covid or dementia, brain rehabilitation often doesn’t receive the same attention as physical rehabilitation. We believed that had to change.”
The problem, she explains, isn’t that cognitive rehabilitation doesn’t work. The real issue is access to it. While physiotherapy has embraced digital innovation, many clinicians working in cognitive rehabilitation still rely on paper exercises and manual processes that are difficult to personalise and even harder to scale.
CAT-BRAIN changes that. The company has transformed the scientifically validated Categorisation Programme into a digital platform that allows clinicians to personalise therapy, monitor patient progress and make data-driven treatment decisions in one place. Clinicians in both Cyprus and the United States are already using the platform, with the goal of making evidence-based cognitive rehabilitation accessible to far more patients around the world.
“We’re not building healthcare software,” says Christodoulides. “We’re translating more than 25 years of clinically validated cognitive rehabilitation research into scalable digital infrastructure.” The science behind the platform is compelling, with studies demonstrating improvements in cognitive performance of up to 60%.
For Christodoulides, however, building a startup isn’t just about technology. It’s about bringing together people with different perspectives to solve meaningful problems. “Two things about me,” she laughs. “I love solving puzzles, and I’m an incurable optimist. Some might call that a requirement for running a startup.”
The long-term vision for CAT-BRAIN stretches well beyond a single product. CAT-BRAIN aims to build a global ecosystem for cognitive rehabilitation, combining cutting-edge research, artificial intelligence and clinical care to reshape the future of brain rehabilitation. The next chapter includes AI-powered personalised therapy recommendations, clinical decision support and explainable AI designed to support clinicians.
Getting this far has required more than great science – it has also taken belief and, over the years, more than €1 million has been secured in scientific research funding, while Cyprus Seeds played a pivotal role in helping the team bridge the gap between academia and entrepreneurship. Its funding and strategic support enabled CAT-BRAIN to transform decades of research into a scalable SaaS platform and begin its commercial journey.
The company is currently focused on expanding across Greek- and English-speaking markets, while exploring partnerships with insurers, healthcare providers and clinical networks. For CAT-BRAIN, the destination is clear: making world-class cognitive rehabilitation available to anyone who needs it. And for a startup born of a single question, that’s proving to be a very powerful answer.
CAT-BRAIN
Founders: Prof. Fofi Constantinidou (Founder & Scientific Director), Nicole Christodoulides (CEO), Dr. Ioulia Solomou (Chief Research Officer), Eric Hetzel (CTO).
What is it?: A digital platform that enables clinicians to deliver higher-quality, evidence-based brain rehabilitation faster.
Stage: Pre-Seed.
Funds received: Over €1 million in non-equity competitive research funding, plus $80,000 in Cyprus Seeds go-to-market funding.
Funds needed: Currently raising €750,000.
Awards: Digital Agenda Cyprus 2023 Second Place; World Summit Awards 2025 Global Shortlist in the Health & Wellbeing category.
What it aspires to become: A global ecosystem for cognitive rehabilitation, where research, AI and clinical care come together.
This interview first appeared in the August edition of GOLD magazine. Click here to view it.
