Exoskeleton News and Research

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Houston Abilities Expo to take place on July 31-August 2 at NRG Center

Thousands of people with disabilities, their families, caregivers, seniors, wounded veterans and healthcare professionals are expected to attend Abilities Expo on July 31-August 2, 2015 at NRG Center (formerly Reliant Center), Hall E. Admission is free and show hours will be Friday 11 am to 5 pm, Saturday 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday 11 am to 4 pm.

25 Jul 2015

ReWalk Robotics unveils latest edition of Personal powered exoskeleton system

ReWalk Robotics Ltd., the leading global exoskeleton manufacturer, unveiled today the latest edition of its Personal powered exoskeleton system—the ReWalk Personal 6.0—marking the company's sixth generation community use product. The ReWalk Personal 6.0 offers those in the spinal cord injured community the most functional exoskeleton system with the fastest walking speed and the most precise fit, among many other key benefits.

14 Jul 2015

Bionik Laboratories successfully raises US$13.1 million in private placement transaction

Bionik Laboratories Corp., a medical device and robotics company with a core focus in robotic exoskeleton technology for users with mobility impairments, announced today that it has completed an additional sale to qualified accredited investors of units consisting of its common stock and warrants for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$1.4 million in a private placement transaction.

7 Jul 2015

Kessler Foundation receives $3 million to improve cognition and mobility of people with TBI

The New Jersey Commission on Brain Injury Research awarded $3 million in grants to Kessler Foundation, half of its total grant distribution in 2015, to improve cognition and mobility of individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

1 Jul 2015

Study changes our understanding of how position and touch signals are combined in brain

Two types of touch information — the feel of an object and the position of an animal's limb — have long been thought to flow into the brain via different channels and be integrated in sophisticated processing regions.

10 Apr 2015

UL researchers awarded €250,000 to develop assistive exoskeletons for older adults

Researchers at the Design Factors Research Group at the University of Limerick have been awarded €250,000 funding to develop an exoskeleton to assist older adults. The research will be carried out as part of the AXO-SUIT project, which will run for 3 years with a total budget of almost €3 million. UL will partner with Cork based company MTD Ltd in the design and manufacture of the concept.

9 Apr 2015

Humans can get better 'gas mileage' using unpowered exoskelton

It's taken millions of years for humans to perfect the art of walking. But research results published today in the journal Nature show that humans can get better 'gas mileage' using an unpowered exoskeleton to modify the structure of their ankles. The device puts an extra spring in each human step, reducing metabolic energy consumption by 7 percent below walking in normal athletic shoes.

2 Apr 2015

NSF awards grant for study on user-centered design framework for powered lower-extremity exoskeletons

It wasn't too long ago that the idea of a wearable robot that would lend its user increased mobility and strength seemed like the stuff of science fiction; indeed, films like Aliens and Iron Man, which featured characters wearing powered exoskeletons, incited the imaginations of many.

31 Jan 2015

Viewpoints: 'Raw judicial politics' on health law; Texas abortion trial; suicide and gender

The Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- has endured so many near-death experiences that digging into the details of still another effort to demolish it is admittedly not an inviting prospect. (My own reaction, I confess, to hearing some months back about the latest legal challenge -- this one aimed at the supposed effect of a single word in the 900-page statute -- was something along the lines of "wake me when it's over.") But stay with me, because this latest round, catapulted onto the Supreme Court's docket earlier this month by the same forces that brought us the failed Commerce Clause attack two years ago, opens a window on raw judicial politics so extreme that the saga so far would be funny if the potential consequences weren't so serious (Linda Greenhouse, 8/20).

22 Aug 2014

FDA clears ReWalk wearable robotic exoskeleton for home usage

Exoskeleton leader ReWalk Robotics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company's ReWalk Personal System for use at home and in the community. ReWalk is a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion to enable individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) to stand upright and walk.

27 Jun 2014

FDA approves marketing of first motorized device for patients with spinal cord injuries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first motorized device intended to act as an exoskeleton for people with lower body paralysis (paraplegia) due to a spinal cord injury.

27 Jun 2014

OSU's scientist leverages OSC systems to study 3-D model of ant anatomy

A recent study into the biomechanics of the necks of ants - a common insect that can amazingly lift objects many times heavier than its own body - might unlock one of nature's little mysteries and, quite possibly, open the door to advancements in robotic engineering.

21 May 2014

HAL robot suit helps paraplegics

For most paraplegic patients, being able to walk again remains a dream. The HAL robot suit can help them regain a certain degree of mobility and activity. An expert team at the Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training (ZNB) in Bochum has been testing the exoskeleton that was originally developed in Japan since 2011. With excellent results.

20 May 2014

New orthotic device could aid in rehabilitation of patients with ankle-foot disorders

A soft, wearable device that mimics the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the lower leg could aid in the rehabilitation of patients with ankle-foot disorders such as drop foot, said Yong-Lae Park, an assistant professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.

22 Jan 2014

Sea coral could soon be used in bone grafting procedures

Sea coral could soon be used more extensively in bone grafting procedures thanks to new research that has refined the material's properties and made it more compatible with natural bone.

29 Nov 2013

NIH awards $2.4M to develop innovative robots to aid people with visual and physical impairment

Three projects have been awarded funding by the National Institutes of Health to develop innovative robots that work cooperatively with people and adapt to changing environments to improve human capabilities and enhance medical procedures. Funding for these projects totals approximately $2.4 million over the next five years, subject to the availability of funds.

25 Oct 2013

ARGO Medical partners with YASKAWA for global expansion of ReWalk exoskeleton device

ARGO Medical Technologies has partnered with innovative robotics experts YASKAWA Electric Corporation as it continues the global expansion of its ReWalk exoskeleton device which enables individuals with lower limb disabilities such as paraplegia to walk.

27 Sep 2013

Brain's tactile and motor neurons shape internal spatial image of body

The brain's tactile and motor neurons, which perceive touch and control movement, may also respond to visual cues, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.

27 Aug 2013

UH, TMHRI receive grants to advance research on robotic exoskeleton

The Cullen Foundation and The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR) have awarded grants to a robotics research project by the University of Houston (UH) and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI).

23 Aug 2013

Kessler Foundation scientists receive more than $1.2 M grants from NJ Commission for SCI research

The New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Injury Research awarded three grants to scientists at Kessler Foundation. The grants, which exceed $1.2 million, fund studies of assisted walking with Ekso, the impact of aging in the population with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the effects of electrical stimulation on bone loss.

10 Jul 2013