The FDA green lit Parker Hannifin‘s Indego exoskeleton for both clinical and personal at-home use. The device allows people with spinal cord injuries to get back to walking and its clearance resulted from the largest exoskeleton clinical trial yet conducted. Study volunteers participated in more than 1200 unique sessions in which the Indego was used for walking both indoor and outdoors, and over different types of surfaces. No serious adverse events were reported.
The Indego weighs 26 pounds and has both on-board controls as well as wireless connectivity to change settings, control operation, and analyze usage data right on your smartphone. The motion of the exoskeleton is controlled by naturally leaning forward and back as needed, sort of like how Segways are ridden. It can be put on and taken off by the user without any assistance from others and having an up to four hour charge can let paralyzed people get a lot more daily walking done than your average American.
The device received European CE Mark approval in late 2015.
Check out this video showing off and discussing the Indego:
Product page: Indego…
Announcement: FDA Clears Parker’s Indego® Exoskeleton for Clinical, Personal Use…