Jymmin Face Active App for Mobilizing Facial Muscles in Cases of Paralysis

Each year, approximately 15 million people suffer a stroke. Many subsequently suffer from facial paralysis, in which the facial muscles weaken. The quality of life of those affected is severely impaired, as they can no longer express their feelings through facial expressions and are impaired in their speech. This is where JYMMiN Face Active comes in, combining training and music to accelerate the activation of the emotional motor nervous system and thus the mobilization of the facial muscles. This opens up entirely new perspectives for patients.

JYMMiN Face Active is an app that can be installed on a smartphone or tablet. The mobile device's camera records the movements of facial lines. To reactivate the facial muscles, the patient is played music through headphones, which they can consciously control by moving their facial muscles or facial lines. There is a group of approximately 20 muscles known as the facial muscles. It enables movements in the forehead, eyes, nose, and mouth. By moving different facial muscles, you can play different instruments in the app. This direct musical feedback gives the patient a great deal of joy, even euphoria. These positive emotions activate the emotional motor nervous system, which in turn stimulates and mobilizes the facial muscles. The increased motivation accelerates the rehabilitation process and thus accelerates the patient's healing. This effect has already been demonstrated in studies at the MPI.

Tom Fritz, head of the Music-Evoked Brain Plasticity research group at the Max Planck Institute for Neurology (MPI-CBS) and founder of JYMMiN, commented on the new app: "With the JYMMiN Face Active app, we are bringing a completely new, joyful, and interactive form of therapy to neurological rehabilitation. Research carried out at the Institute has shown that music is a powerful driver for activating the emotional motor nervous system —this effect is specifically utilized with the app. Patients experience rehabilitation not as a tedious chore, but as a positive, motivating experience. The direct music feedback creates a playful connection between emotion and movement, which has been proven to accelerate facial muscle mobilization. We are pleased that this method is now accessible to many affected patients worldwide and is already being successfully used in neurological clinics."

The app can be used directly by patients, but is also suitable as a support during therapy. The app allows training sessions to be recorded and analyzed in detail. This allows therapists to save time when training facial muscles, while their patients complete targeted, regular training. The JYMMiN Face Active app is currently being used very successfully in Germany at the Bennewitz Neurological Rehabilitation Center near Leipzig and at a renowned clinic in Schleswig-Holstein.

The new app for this innovative therapy now offers millions of patients worldwide a new, motivating way to specifically train their facial muscles and sustainably improve their quality of life.

JYMMiN Face Active demonstrates how basic research can be transferred from a start-up to practical application. I am particularly pleased that with this app, a scientifically sound innovation from neuroscience can now directly benefit patients. The road from research to a marketable solution is often long and challenging - so it is all the more welcome that this technology can now offer people with facial paralysis around the world a new perspective. This example once again illustrates the relevance of technology transfer for society and motivates us to continue helping to translate scientific findings into meaningful applications," says Dieter Link, Senior Patent and Licensing Manager at Max Planck Innovation, the technology transfer organization of the Max Planck Society.

The Face Active app will be presented at the Expo 2025 world exhibition in Osaka, Japan, as an outstanding German medical technology innovation. Founder and co-partner of Jymmin GmbH, Tom Fritz, will give a presentation at the German Pavilion on May 17 and introduce the app. Expo 2025 will take place from April 13 to October 13, 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka under the motto “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”. Around 28 million visitors are expected to come and find out about the latest technologies and innovations.

Availability and Further Information

The JYMMiN Face Active app is now available to patients and therapists. Further information on possible applications, scientific background, and current collaborations with clinics can be found on the official website: www.faceactive.jymmin.com