Bionic Suit may Help Paralyzed Patients

A bionic suit originally developed for military use has been found to be very useful for paralyzed patients as a number of patients at Huntington Memorial Hospital in California have started to walk again.

The Ekso Bionic Suit costs over $150,000 and was developed to help the military to carry large loads. The suit, which weighs around 45 pounds and is worn over a person's clothes, detects the wearer's center of gravity thanks to foot plate sensors and helps them walk despite their problems.

Says Andy Bloom, who took his first steps in over two years thanks to the suit, "Mentally it's a wonderful feeling to be upright and moving. Right now, I don't really need anybody holding me. I can lift my hands up and put a little weight on these crutches and feel pretty comfortable. I have no doubt in my lifetime that there will be some sort of solution for spinal cord injuries. I firmly believe that I will be able to walk in the future. It's just a matter of time."


Source: Medindia