Treadwell Corporation, a Wilmington-based company with a system to treat Sedentary death syndrome (SeDS), has received a grant from the One North Carolina Small Business Program, according to a press release Thursday.

The grant was given to 24 innovative small companies in the state to develop new products, hire more employees and purchase needed materials, Governor Roy Cooper announced in the release.

Treadwell received $43,260 to develop treadling methodology, similar to the mechanism used to operate machines with a foot pedal, and devices to improve mobility in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

SeDS is a term used to diagnose preventable chronic diseases caused by physical inactivity.

“These innovative companies have the ideas to succeed but need help with seed money to create new technologies and bring them to market,” said Cooper in the release. “These grants can help spur new products and industries, increase the number of high-paying jobs across the state, and improve our quality of life.”

The One NC Small Business Program is administered by the North Carolina Office of Science, Technology & Innovation and provides state grants to match federal funds awarded to the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

Both programs help small businesses develop new and innovative technologies that have a high potential for commercialization, stated the release.

Treadwell’s grant-funded STTR project is sponsored by the National Institute of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Treadwell developed the Treadwell System, a proprietary product that looks like a footrest that moves a sitting person’s feet up and down with the goal of increasing blood flow.

The company started developing the system in 2004 under the leadership of co-founders Richard Hand and Gerald Collins.

This year’s grant recipients are the most geographically diverse in the program’s history due to efforts to prioritize companies outside the state’s most prosperous counties, stated the release.

“The North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation recognized the growing split between urban and rural parts of the state,” said Michael Cunningham, executive vice president and general counsel of Red Hat Inc. and Board Chair. “In an effort to bridge this divide, the Board was able to provide more grants to rural parts of the state in this cohort of grantees, thus supporting greater innovation statewide.”