Robotic suit helps paralysed man to walk again

A patient at Huntington Memorial Hospital in the US has become one of the first people to regain the ability to walk through the use of an innovative bionic exoskeleton.

Aaron Bloom, a 27-year-old paraplegic who lost the use of his legs in 2010, was able to utilise the ready-to-wear robotic exoskeleton from Ekso Bionics to move across a room without the use of a wheelchair.

The battery-powered suit is strapped over the user’s clothing and features stabilising crutches equipped with remote control buttons allowing him to control the computerised device, while a physical therapist uses the control pad to programme the desired walking parameters.

Currently, 18 medical centres in the US and two in Europe offer the Ekso exoskeleton device.

Dr Sunil Hegde, medical director of Huntington’s outpatient rehabilitation centre, said: "While this technology is currently used only in rehabilitation centers, we join with Ekso in looking forward to the day when people will be able to utilise this technology on the sidewalks or in shopping malls."

Ekso Bionics has been operating since 2005 and has worked alongside organisations such as the University of California, Berkeley and Lockheed Martin on its various projects.