Exoskeleton Suit

Ekso Exoskeleton Suit

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:46:57 +0000

The UK Channel 4 TV programme “Brave New World with Steven Hawking” screened on 17 October 2011 featured an exoskeleton known as “eLegs” (rebranded “Ekso” since the programme was made) and designed by Berkeley Bionics, a California company formed in 2005 and a few days ago renamed “Ekso Bionics”.

Things really are moving fast, but even if this device becomes available for personal use by 2013, it won’t be suitable for ALL wheelchair users – upper body strength is needed to control the device. Also, the price tag is being guessed at anything between 50,000 U.S. dollars and 100,000 GBP, depending on which reports you read. These points aside, it’s great to see real impetus behind this project now.

More information on the device is given in this Sky News exoskeleton article dated 21 Oct 2011.

And here is an report of the company’s exoskeleton presentation in New York on 7 October 2011.

Here is a report from the Kessler Foundation dated 17 Oct 2011 – they are planning to evaluate Ekso:

http://www.kesslerfoundation.org/media/displaynews.php?id=158

And here’s some background information, from 7 October 2010:

Berkeley held a presentation in San Francisco back on 7 October 2010, at which the CEO Eythor Bender said:

“Today I am going to rekindle a hope among (the) spinal-cord injured and others”

It’s important to note that this device is designed for people with arm and hand strength, which are needed for getting into the device.

The CEO also said that the exoskeleton is easy to put on and remove, and offers a quiet, natural gait. It has a rechargeable battery that can last for a day.

The chief of spinal cord and orthopedic rehabilitation at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, Dr. Akshat Shah, also spoke at the event, saying that when patients suffering from paralysis ask him if they will ever walk again, the answer for most has been “no”. But he went on to say, “The eLEGS represents a huge jump in overcoming disease and disability in our lifetime. Now, more often than not, the answer can be yes.”

According to Bender, most robotic devices in rehabilitation clinics today cost between $250,000 and $400,000 and he is aiming for eLegs to cost a lot less, something in line with high-end wheelchairs. As of October 2010 his aim was to make the device available for personal use by 2013.

The current version of the suit is designed for use in rehabilitation facilities and requires a “spotter” – a person standing behind with a remote control, making the suit move in line with the patient’s strides:

Their plan is still to deliver a personal Ekso unit in 2013 – 2014 that can be used at home without a spotter’s supervision.

Here is the Youtube channel for Ekso Bionics:

http://www.youtube.com/user/berkeleybionics

and here is the company website:

http://www.eksobionics.com

Please leave a comment below…

HAL Exoskeleton Suit by Cyberdyne

admin — Sat, 15 May 2010 08:36:25 +0000

I’ve just been looking again at this exoskeleton suit called “HAL” from a company in Japan called Cyberdyne:

HAL Exoskeleton Suit, picture courtesy of Cyberdyne.jp

This was interesting in its ability to pick up the timy impulses that the brain sends to the muscles when a person tries tp move. These impulses are detected by sensors placed on the surface of the skin.

The only problem is that, as the company says, this exoskeleton increases the strength of existing muscle action, so it seems that if someone has no movement at all in, say, their legs, it appears on the face of it that the HAL exoskeleton suit will not be able to help them.

I am trying to get more detailed information from Cyberdyne in order to clarify this.

Exoskeleton Suit – Useful Information from Around the World

admin — Sun, 09 May 2010 09:50:30 +0000

Welcome to the Exoskeleton Suit blog.

I’m Michael, and in this first blog post you can find:

A round-up of information and links to exoskeleton suit articles, news and web pages from around the world

One of the most prominent recent news articles has been about the Rewalk Exoskeleton Suit, and I’ll be bringing you more information on that as the story develops. Here is a link to the New York Times story in February 2010 on the Rewalk Exoskeleton Suit:

Rewalk Exoskeleton Suit in the New York Times

And here is another version of this story, from an Israeli news site:

Exoskeleton Suit report from Israel

Finally, here’s the ABC News take on the story:

Robotic Suit News Report from ABC

All of the above reports were about the Rewalk Exoskeleton Suit, which is under development. Latest reports indicate that FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) is expected to approve the suit some time in 2010 with it becoming available commercially after that. I have no links to this company and I am not promoting their products, but at the time of writing this is the only exoskeleton suit that is said to be commercially viable AT THIS TIME.

Of course, that could change at any time and I will be keeping this site updated with news as it develops.

Meanwhile, here is a link to the website of the manufacturer whose suit is featured in all the above reports:

Argo Medical Technologies

Argo Medical Technologies, of Haifa, Israel

There are other organisations involved in developing robotic exoskeleton suits, but arguably not as close to a releasing a commercial product. Here are a couple of them:

“They Shall Walk”

“They Shall Walk” is a non-profit medical research organisation based in Seattle. Their “Lifesuit” exoskeleton suit looks exciting but is still very much under development, and the organisation is constantly raising funds for further development and for clinical trials. At this stage there is no date for commercial availability of this suit. You can take a look at their website and also become a donating member here:

TheyShallWalk.org

Yobotics

Yobotics is another organisation, based in Cincinnati, Ohio that has been involved in the development, in their case, a robotic leg as opposed to a full exoskeleton suit. The “RoboWalker” was developed and a prototype tested in 2001/2 and the organisation has since then been looking for funding of $5 million to bring the product to production and commercial availability. To date, no backers have been found. Here is their website:

yobotics.com

*** Note to other companies or organizations involved in research into exoskeleton suits: This is a world-wide free and non-commercial website for information on any device that could help a wheelchair user to walk again (as opposed to purely military applications). If you are developing such a product, I need to feature it on this website so please get in touch immediately if you are not represented here. ***

Please come back regularly as I will be updating the blog and web pages as news develops. If you want me to send you an email with breaking news as it comes in, just leave your email address on the top right (I will never share your email address).

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