Upon completing her last final exam for a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in December 2019, Isabel Gutierrez was already charting a course for success.

As the founder and CEO of Vistendo Inc., a preventive health startup for athletes, she was also celebrating a significant milestone — a $250,000 SBIR Phase I grant from the Department of Defense.

Guided by the vision of “ending human suffering,” Vistendo aims to create accessible technology for early detection of health issues for athletes. The company also plans to use the technology to help soldiers. The journey began with securing initial funding from the U.S. Defense Health Agency’s Small Business Innovation Research grant program to develop a portable, battlefield-ready device to detect traumatic brain injury symptoms in U.S. troops and veterans.

“So, I set out to make it. As a mechanical engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona, I had access to tools, experts, and resources to develop my own technology,” says Gutierrez (’19, mechanical engineering).

Gutierrez comes from a sports-oriented family with a strong affinity for soccer. Growing up, bumps and bruises were part of the game.

However, life took an unforeseen turn during her early days at Cal Poly Pomona when her sister encountered an injury — struck in the back of the head by a soccer ball. Weeks of undiagnosed suffering followed, marked by headaches, sensitivity to brightness, and even undergoing personality changes. Undeterred, her sister persisted in playing soccer, not knowing that a second impact to the head was potentially life-threatening.

Weaving her personal story and academic experiences at Cal Poly Pomona, Gutierrez was inspired to start Vistendo Inc. as an undergraduate.

“So, I set out to make it. As a mechanical engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona, I had access to tools, experts, and resources to develop my own technology,” Gutierrez says.

Vistendo has gone on to create a comprehensive solution, both an artificial intelligence-infused mobile app and a full spectrum device all crafted with the singular purpose of helping athletes look after their bodies and know when to seek care. The company’s innovative, noninvasive full-spectrum oculomotor device, which has garnered almost $2 million in SBIR funding, will assist with objective traumatic brain injury assessment, be it on the sidelines for athletes or the battlefield for troops. Currently undergoing a clinical study at Johns Hopkins Brain Injury Outcome Center, it is being compared to existing clinical devices for enhanced accuracy and efficacy.

In a testament to Vistendo’s impact, the company recently was awarded $1.5 million from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for early warning and prediction of chemical and biological threat exposure and a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Defense Health Agency (DHA) to modify their commercial mobile app built to streamline health and injury communication for military use to aid service members with fitness optimization and readiness management.

Beyond running her business, Gutierrez remains connected to Cal Poly Pomona. She serves as an industry mentor and donor, fostering dynamic engagement with students and faculty, and setting up funded research projects that harness the skills of CPP students to work together to realize the goal of ending athlete suffering. Reflecting on her past, Gutierrez fondly recalls the invaluable lessons and opportunities bestowed upon her by the dedicated faculty and staff at the College of Engineering, NSF-funded I-CORPs program and the Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex (BRIC) that have played a pivotal role in her professional trajectory.

“I’m especially excited to return to Cal Poly Pomona to create a multi-departmental collaborative research project that will allow Cal Poly Pomona students to work together alongside industry professionals on a real-world project,” Gutierrez says. “I’m so thankful for the guidance and support of my family, my advisors, my team and the resources provided by Cal Poly Pomona.”

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