What is TaoPatch?
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In fact, welcome to Trulyfit the online fitness marketplace connecting pros and clients through unique fitness business software.
Meet Dmitri Leonov, Co-Founder of TaoPatch
Steve Washuta: Interestingly, the nanotechnology patch that Novak Djokovic called the biggest secret of his career is TaoPatch. Today we have the co-founder on to break down the science, the claims, and the benefits.
Steve Washuta: Notably, welcome to the Trulyfit Podcast, where we interview experts in fitness and health to expand our wisdom. I’m your host Steve Washuta, co-founder of Trulyfit and author of Fitness Business 101.
Steve Washuta: As it turns out, on today’s episode I interviewed Dmitri Leonov of TaoPatch, the company’s co-founder. What is TaoPatch? It’s a nanotechnology that combines acupuncture principles with low-level laser therapy.
Steve Washuta: To that point, i want you to understand that I don’t promote any particular products, ideology, or principles on this podcast. I interview people and give you information. It’s on you to do your own due diligence to make sure it’s right for you or your clients.
Steve Washuta: Overall, it was a great interview, and I appreciate everything Dmitri is doing for the industry. Without further ado, here’s my conversation with Dmitri Leonov of TaoPatch.
Steve Washuta: For context, thank you so much for joining the Trulyfit Podcast. Why don’t you give my listeners some background on who you are and your credentials? What do you do day to day in the health and wellness industry?
Dmitri Leonov’s Background in Wellness Tech
Dmitri Leonov: That said, thanks so much for having me. My name is Dmitri, and I’m a co-founder of TaoPatch in the US. We’re a wearable wellness device that combines light therapy with acupuncture via nanotechnology. We can talk about that in more detail.
Dmitri Leonov: Meanwhile, i’ve always been a bit of a health junkie. For a few years I’ve also been involved in the transformative tech space. We’ve organized conferences and events around the world at the intersection of technology and wellness, or “wellness tech.” With TaoPatch, we’re excited to help people with health and longevity. We also focus on performance and recovery for athletes.
What Is the Nanotechnology Behind TaoPatch?
Steve Washuta: In particular, whenever you’re in a business that’s not standard Western medicine, people are always going to have questions. Honestly, they probably should have more questions about Western medicine too. But they’re always going to question things like acupuncture and light therapy, and want the science to back it up.
Steve Washuta: Ultimately, you use the term nanotechnology — what exactly fits into that? Let’s talk about that first, and then we can get into some of the studies behind your product.
Dmitri Leonov: So the product itself is a small disc that looks like a plastic coin, and it doesn’t look like much. But it contains layers of a nanomaterial we developed that has a very unique quality. When you place it on your body, it captures your infrared energy — your body heat. Then it converts that heat into a broader spectrum of light, all the way from infrared to ultraviolet.
Dmitri Leonov: In fact, there are literally 9,700 studies on PubMed about light therapy in general. We’re closer to a subset of that called low-level laser therapy, which is also well studied.
Why TaoPatch Beats Bulky, Expensive Light Therapy Devices
Dmitri Leonov: Interestingly, the normal problem with light therapy and low-level laser therapy is that the devices are bulky. They also need to be plugged into an outlet, and they’re expensive.
Dmitri Leonov: Typically you can only apply it for an hour, maybe once a week. Or an hour a day if you have one at home. Then you go back to your normal life. That amount of time doesn’t give your body enough time to integrate the therapy.
Dmitri Leonov: Notably, with this nanomaterial, we can just stick it to specific points on your body. This is where acupuncture comes in, since it’s tied to Chinese medicine. Depending on where you place it, the light has different effects. But in a nutshell, it helps your central nervous system communicate more effectively with the rest of your body.
Dmitri Leonov: As it turns out, the benefit of it being so tiny is that it works for two and a half years without batteries. You just wear it 24/7, and your own body heat powers the effect.
How Long Does a TaoPatch Actually Last?
Steve Washuta: To that point, what is the component that runs out, for lack of a better term?
Dmitri Leonov: Overall, it’s not that it completely stops working after two and a half years. It’s just that the rate at which the material converts your body heat into light diminishes over time. For two and a half years it’s 100% effective, and then it slowly gets less effective. That’s why we say two and a half years is the guaranteed window, and after that it’s less so.
Why Nerve Cells Respond to Light
Steve Washuta: For context, can you explain the difference between this light and natural light? Or the light you’d get from something like a light bed — what’s different about the ranges?
Dmitri Leonov: Honestly, light is light. But why does it work, and why is it helpful? There are two reasons. First, our nerve cells use electricity to communicate with each other, but they also use photons. I wasn’t taught this in school. But back in the 70s, researchers showed that our neurons actually use photons of light to communicate as well.
Dmitri Leonov: That said, this light is very similar to those photons. In a sense, it reminds the body how to communicate naturally with itself. That matters because over the millennia we evolved alongside natural light from the sun. There’s a bit more ultraviolet in the morning, and more infrared toward evening and sunset. That whole color spectrum is important for our bodies to function.
Dmitri Leonov: But over the last hundred-plus years we’ve been stuck indoors under artificial lighting. A lot of those wavelengths just aren’t reaching our bodies anymore. It’s really important to have those different colors of light absorbed into the body, and that’s what TaoPatch does.
Dmitri Leonov: Meanwhile, a lot of light beds and other products use those same beneficial wavelengths. That’s why they work, and why the studies show they’re effective. Ours is just a unique way of miniaturizing the technology so you can wear it 24/7.
Cost, Portability, and Where to Wear TaoPatch
Steve Washuta: Yeah, I’ve seen some pieces of equipment that weren’t just the size of a twin bed, but cost $120,000. So being able to put something on your body that’s a piece of nanotechnology seems like a much better option. And it’s significantly cheaper.
Steve Washuta: In particular, can you speak to the placement on your body? Why would you put it on the back of your neck as opposed to your wrist or your leg? And could you use multiple at one time?
Dmitri Leonov: Ultimately, yes, you can absolutely use multiple at one time — there are several points we recommend. First, it’s really helpful for injury recovery: placing it on the point where it hurts makes the pain go away.
Dmitri Leonov: In fact, what’s interesting is that it doesn’t just mask the pain like a painkiller would. It actually goes to the root of the problem and helps the healing, so the pain naturally disappears.
TaoPatch’s Acupuncture Points and Chinese Medicine
Dmitri Leonov: Interestingly, the second set of points comes from Chinese medicine. That’s why we say it’s a combination of light therapy and acupuncture. Rather than applying the light to your entire body, there are specific points where it’s particularly beneficial.
Dmitri Leonov: Notably, there are two points we recommend for everyone, especially in the beginning. One is on the Ren meridian, on your sternum, and the other is on your spine. These are two of the key meridians in Chinese medicine. We’ve seen them work best for general balance, well-being, focus, and proprioception.
Dmitri Leonov: As it turns out, beyond that, we have protocols for specific issues that come from Chinese medicine. Wherever an acupuncturist would use needles, we use light instead. Acupuncturists really love this. One pain point of acupuncture is that the patient comes in for an hour, gets needles, and leaves.
Dmitri Leonov: To that point, their system then has to adjust back to normal life on its own. TaoPatch is something they can wear in between sessions. So does that answer your question?
The Clinical Studies Behind Dmitri Leonov and TaoPatch
Steve Washuta: Overall, sure, it certainly does. You mentioned there are over 9,000 studies on light therapy, and I’ve read some of them. It’s become a bit of a trend recently, which is interesting. But specifically for your product, have you had enough time to go through the normal testing process?
Dmitri Leonov: For context, yes, we have 17 published studies. Not all of them are double-blind, but some are double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. There are two groups of people we’ve been particularly helpful for.
Dmitri Leonov: That said, like I mentioned, this light helps your brain communicate more effectively with the rest of your body. The first system that’s affected is proprioception.
Dmitri Leonov: Meanwhile, we’ve seen this both in studies and anecdotally with nearly everyone who tries it. If you put someone on force plates that measure balance, there’s a test for that. It looks at how their center of gravity changes over the course of a minute. Normally there’s a fair amount of variation, since the body makes constant micro-adjustments to stay balanced.
Dmitri Leonov: In every case we’ve seen, people become a lot more stable, so their center of gravity stays put. That means less energy is spent on those micro-adjustments.
Novak Djokovic, Olympic Athletes, and TaoPatch
Dmitri Leonov: In particular, that’s just one effect. Overall proprioception, balance, range of motion, movement speed, and strength all improve. We work with a lot of athletes — several world champions, five Olympic athletes. Some use it for performance, others for recovery.
Dmitri Leonov: Ultimately, a few months ago, Novak Djokovic was caught on camera wearing it at Roland Garros. At the press conference afterward, he was asked what he was wearing. He said it was the biggest secret of his career — that he wouldn’t be sitting there without it. Those are his words, not mine.
TaoPatch for MS, Parkinson’s, and Other Neurological Disorders
Dmitri Leonov: In fact, the second group we’ve helped has honestly been even more encouraging for us. These are people whose nervous system doesn’t communicate well with the rest of their body. That includes people with MS, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, and other neurological disorders. For them it’s an astounding difference.
Dmitri Leonov: If you go to our website, taopatch.co, you can see before-and-after videos. We ask customers to record themselves before and after, and then continue recording over time to track progress. The difference is incredible. You can see people who couldn’t walk in a straight line start to walk straight within minutes. It’s just astounding to see.
Falls, Proprioception, and Healthy Aging
Steve Washuta: Yeah — I work with seniors and a lot of people with movement disorders, both Parkinson’s and MS. It’s sad to see, because a fall can cause them to deteriorate very fast.
Steve Washuta: Typically what happens is you fall because of your age. Your proprioception is already lacking, so you don’t break your fall properly. So now you have a serious injury, maybe a fractured femur or collarbone, and that limits you.
Steve Washuta: Then you become more deconditioned because you can’t keep walking or exercising, and things spiral out of control. Studies have shown that after one fall, someone over 60 sees their life expectancy cut nearly in half. That’s especially true with a movement disorder.
Steve Washuta: So it’s really important to protect proprioception and help people avoid getting injured in the first place. To me, that’s almost more interesting for that population than shaving 1% off performance for athletes.
Dmitri Leonov: Interestingly, absolutely. It’s heartwarming for us to work with athletes and see how it helps them. Every second and every minute counts for them. But it’s just as meaningful to see the difference it makes for someone who can’t walk normally. That’s something we take for granted.
Dmitri Leonov: Notably, we had some patients with Parkinson’s who couldn’t talk, and after six months they started talking again. It’s just amazing to see.
Steve Washuta: As it turns out, that was amazing. I’ll say, as somebody who also works with this population, the typical goal is just to stay status quo. People in this group almost never really get better, so you’re trying to hold the line, not regress.
Steve Washuta: So having something that produces actual progress is very impressive, and I’m interested in looking further into that.
Is TaoPatch Considered a Medical Device?
Steve Washuta: Now, when you work with this population, you’re making claims. I’d assume it has to be considered a medical device. Is the criteria different than, say, a compression wristband or foam roller — something with no technology involved?
Dmitri Leonov: To that point, that’s a really good point — thank you for bringing it up. We’re actually very careful not to make claims. Yes, we have studies, certainly, but we’re careful, because it doesn’t work for everyone.
Dmitri Leonov: Overall, that’s why we have a money-back guarantee. If it doesn’t reach your goals, or you just want to return it for any reason, just send it back. We’ll happily refund you. Our refund rate is about 5%, so there’s a small percentage of people it doesn’t help. The vast majority, though, are very happy with the results.
Dmitri Leonov: In Europe we’re classified as a Class I medical device. That’s the same level of classification as a Band-Aid. It’s extremely safe, there are no contraindications, no real risk, and it can be self-applied.
Dmitri Leonov: In the US we’re in the process of going through FDA clearance, and we’re almost at the very end. Regardless, we want to be careful not to make claims we can’t back up. We don’t promise anything, but we do promise that if it doesn’t work, we’ll happily refund you.
Why TaoPatch Avoids Making Medical Claims
Steve Washuta: And at times that’s an advantage too, right? Because once you start making certain claims, you get categorized differently. Then you have to meet a whole different level of criteria.
Steve Washuta: For context, i know plenty of, let’s call them pseudo-supplement companies. They say their product is medicinal in how it acts and works. But you didn’t want to be classified that way, because then there’s more regulation.
Dmitri Leonov: That said, exactly, absolutely. It’s an interesting space, especially working with MS at a mass-population scale. We’re not trying to go up against Big Pharma, but it is a very different space, a completely different business.
Dmitri Leonov: Meanwhile, we’re in the business of helping people live their lives better. We don’t claim that it heals or cures MS or Parkinson’s. Though we have seen improvement in lesions in some cases. Most importantly, it helps reduce symptoms so people can just live their lives.
Lessons Dmitri Leonov Learned Building TaoPatch
Steve Washuta: In particular, entrepreneurs are all over the fitness industry, myself included. Much like you, going through the research, the packaging, and getting a product to market involves a lot.
Steve Washuta: Ultimately, what have you learned on this journey? If you were to build another product, what would you do differently? What did you get right the first time?
Dmitri Leonov: In fact, i think any entrepreneur would tell you, don’t do it! I don’t know if I’d have done much differently. I’d say just prepare for a slog. It’s an uphill battle, and that’s not new information; everybody would say that.
Dmitri Leonov: Interestingly, developing a new nanotechnology product from scratch is very expensive and takes a long time. We’re continuously rolling out new products as well, so I’d say piggybacking on existing developments helps.
Dmitri Leonov: If you’re a coach or trainer, or in the fitness space generally, this matters. We’re actively building our network of practitioners in the US. We already have one in Europe, and we’re in the process of rolling it out here. So I’d welcome anyone to reach out and work with us, and offer this to their clients.
Patents, Competition, and the Future of TaoPatch
Steve Washuta: Notably, lastly, is there a patent on this? How does that work? Can you talk about licensing and patents, and how that works differently in Europe versus the US? Are you worried about potential copycats?
Dmitri Leonov: As it turns out, yes and no. We have a patent in the final stages of approval — it’s been pending a while and it’s almost granted. Patents are a difficult, lengthy process to go through, so we’re not too worried about someone copying the technology.
Dmitri Leonov: To that point, that said, we welcome competition. There are different ways of solving this problem. If somebody comes up with a similar or different way to help people who are really suffering, that’s good.
Dmitri Leonov: Overall, this is a very big market, and there’s plenty of room. The world is dealing with toxicity, pollution, and a lifestyle that keeps disrupting our balance. All of that puts even more strain on our nervous system. I think this is a very big market for the future.
Where to Find TaoPatch and Learn More
Steve Washuta: For context, this has been great information. Can you point my listeners toward where they can find more about TaoPatch?
Dmitri Leonov: That said, sure, thanks. It’s TaoPatch dot co — T-A-O-P-A-T-C-H dot co. On the website you’ll find our social media, our email, and our phone number. If you have any questions, feel free to call, contact us on social media, or email us. We’ll be happy to help.
Steve Washuta: Meanwhile, my guest today has been Dmitri Leonov of TaoPatch. Thank you for joining the Trulyfit Podcast.
Dmitri Leonov: In particular, thanks for having me.
Steve Washuta: Ultimately, thanks for joining us on the Trulyfit podcast. Please subscribe, rate, and review on your listening platform. Feel free to email us as we’d love to hear from you.
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Interestingly, thanks again!
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If you want to see how another cutting-edge recovery technology is being studied, check out this blog: Dr. Jeff Gross: What is Regenerative Medicine?
