A robotic exoskeleton is helping rehab patients at an Edmonton hospital walk again, by providing them the strength they need to stand on their own two feet.
The apparatus, which is officially called an EksoGT Exoskeleton, has helped more than 80 people walk since it was introduced at Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital three years ago.
Sixteen-year-old patient Hussain Al Hussainy, who has cerebral palsy, says he was eager to try the Ekso exoskeleton when they compared it to an “Iron Man suit.”
“They said it’s kind of like a robot,” he told CTV Edmonton on Tuesday.
The battery-powered suit uses electronic joints and configurable software to assist a person as much as necessary with walking, whether it be with or without crutches.
Al Hussainy uses the device to help strengthen his posture in hopes of one day walking without assistance.
“The Ekso helps my disability not get in the way,” he said, adding that he feels “powerful” when wearing it.
The suit has also been a godsend for Ryan Nicoll, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a farm accident last year.
“At this time last year I could wiggle a toe basically,” he said.
Now, Nicoll is rebuilding the strength and muscle memory to walk again with help from the suit.
“You do take it for granted until you actually have to train your body and mind to do it all over again,” he said.
Physiotherapist Georgia Diduck says the device has been “life-changing” for her patients because it allows them to begin rehab sooner than they normally would.
“To get people up as early as possible is helpful, and it really helps decrease the amount of assistance they would need in the long term,” she said.
The Ekso exoskeleton was designed by Ekso Bionics, a robotics company that partners with private, public and military organizations to help people who have been disabled by strokes, spinal cord injuries and other issues.
The company also produces an Ekso Vest, which provides mechanical assistance and support for the upper body, with the goal of reducing injury to manual labourers.
With files from CTV Edmonton
