The Human Exoskeleton: Medical Marvel

  
Being physically disabled makes life difficult for millions of people in the world, but with his new technological breakthrough, Eythor Bender promises to work towards eliminating the need for wheelchairs and other movement assistance devices forever. His inventions, entitled the HULC and eLEGS respectively, promise to help wheelchair users walk autonomously by enhancing the natural strength in their own bodies using robotics technology.

   "There are 68 million people estimated to be in wheelchairs worldwide. This is about 1% of the population, and that is actually a conservative estimate," said Bender, "these people are young in some cases, in their twenties and thirties, and they hit a wall."

   In his presentation in March of 2011 to the TED Conference LLC, Eythor Bender demonstrated the stunning potential of his robotic suit by enabling a paraplegic woman to walk again for the first time in 19 years. Bender spoke to the impressed crowd about the implications of such a scientific development. For the full video, watch here.

The Ekso Bionic's Suit

    One year later, Eythor has  updated his website at Ekso Bionics to show the changes and improvements that he incorporated into his exoskeleton and how those changes are making it easier than ever for someone to experience the power and control of walking on their own. The Ekso Bionics' Suit trains users to walk again in three main stages: FirstStep, ActiveStep, and ProStep.

In FirstStep, users are assisted by a physical therapist, who helps trigger the robotics in the machine each time that they find their balance and want to take a step. ActiveStep occurs when the user takes control of pressing the button for themselves once they've become more comfortable with their balance and control over their movements. Finally, ProStep, the final phase of training, is when the user allows the exoskeleton to read their body language and weight distribution in order to determine on its own when the user is ready to take the next step. This final phase requires no button pushing and allows truly free, autonomous movement for the user.

The implications for this advancement in robotics and artificial intelligence are monumental for the wheelchair and walker bound community. As Eythor Bender said: "People live very full lives from a wheelchair, but they cannot walk. That is what the bionic suit gives you."

References:

http://www.eksobionics.com/

http://www.ted.com/talks/eythor_bender_demos_human_exoskeletons.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzRmNYA8LlY