FingerWorks

Founded by John Elias and Wayne Westerman of the University of Delaware in 1998, it produced a line of multi-touch products including the iGesture Pad and the TouchStream keyboard, which were particularly helpful for people suffering from RSI and other medical conditions.

Westerman was working on a dissertation on chord-based manipulation with a multi-touch surface while a doctoral student at the University of Delaware.

He and Elias, a professor in his department, started FingerWorks while he was finishing his dissertation, which formed the basis for some of the company's products.

Westerman developed repetitive stress problems while finishing his dissertation, which inspired active focus on low-impact inputs.

[2][3] In early 2005, FingerWorks went through a rocky period, and stopped shipping new products or responding actively to support requests.