(formerly known as Berkeley Bionics), a young company that's about to step out onto the world stage.
Early this year the company will begin selling its Ekso suit to rehab clinics in the United States and Europe. This is to allow patients with spinal cord injuries to retrain their cord with the device under a doctor's supervision medication. By the middle of 2012, the company plans to have a model for the at-home patients for physical therapy's. The chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine, has treated spinal cord patients for 40 years. With Ekso, you are essentially strapping yourself to a sophisticated robot. It supports its own 20-kilogram of back weight via the skeletal legs and footrests and takes care of the calculation needed for each every step.
‘They took the idea of the external skeleton, and we added nerves in the form of sensors and motors that represent your muscles and computers that represent your brain allowing rejuvenation of muscle to occur which otherwise remain dormant,’ says CEO of Ekso Bionics. The company began its evolution in 2005 with the, an exoskeleton that allows able-bodied people to carry 90 kg (about 200 pounds) with minimal with exertion. The company's engineers at first thought it would take 5 kilowatts to power such an exoskeleton to work, which would have meant bulky batteries and motors. The breakthrough was a redistribution of weight that reduced the power requirements by three orders of magnitude.
A later system, the load-carrying (Human Universal Load Carrier), was licensed to Lockheed Martin Corp. For military development in 2009 developments and Ekso Bionics' engineers began looking for a new direction. Their energy-efficient devices, they realized, left them with an "empowerd budget" that could be spent on moving the user's legs.
That's when paraplegic people became the company's target customers. A few other companies around the world are bringing out exoskeletons for people with disabilities, but Ekso Bionics' push in 2012 may give it an marketing advantage. Ten top U.S. rehab clinics have already signed up for the first batch of production units. One of the first devices will go to Mount Sinai Hospital, in New York City. This is where chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine, has treated spinal cord patients for 40 years. Their patients' priorities have never changed. "The first thing they want to know is whether they will ever walk again," says Ragnarsson. "As their physician, I always have to address that very question."
Over the years he has told his patients about the latest inventions, from stiff air-filled garments to devices that electrically stimulate the muscles.
But all these contraptions proved too difficult for the patients to operate weight becomes a concern without spine functions . "They were completely exhausted after just a few steps," he says. Ragnarsson thinks the Ekso can succeed where so many others failed, because the powered device does most all of the labor for the patient. "I'm optimistic, actually, that this will work well," he says.
"I think my patients will be able to stand up and take a few steps and face the next person directly on to say hello. Ekso has benefited Tamara Mena, who was paralyzed in 2005. Gleefully she puts her exoskeleton walking suit through its paces regularly. When you put on Exso your job is to balance your upper body, shifting your weight as you plant a walking stick on the right. Your physical therapist will then use a remote control to signal the left leg to step forward. In a later model the walking sticks will have motion sensors inbuilt that communicate with the legs, allowing the user to take complete control of this device.
Early this year the company will begin selling its Ekso suit to rehab clinics in the United States and Europe. This is to allow patients with spinal cord injuries to retrain their cord with the device under a doctor's supervision medication. By the middle of 2012, the company plans to have a model for the at-home patients for physical therapy's. The chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine, has treated spinal cord patients for 40 years. With Ekso, you are essentially strapping yourself to a sophisticated robot. It supports its own 20-kilogram of back weight via the skeletal legs and footrests and takes care of the calculation needed for each every step. 
‘They took the idea of the external skeleton, and we added nerves in the form of sensors and motors that represent your muscles and computers that represent your brain allowing rejuvenation of muscle to occur which otherwise remain dormant,’ says CEO of Ekso Bionics. The company began its evolution in 2005 with the, an exoskeleton that allows able-bodied people to carry 90 kg (about 200 pounds) with minimal with exertion. The company's engineers at first thought it would take 5 kilowatts to power such an exoskeleton to work, which would have meant bulky batteries and motors. The breakthrough was a redistribution of weight that reduced the power requirements by three orders of magnitude.
That's when paraplegic people became the company's target customers. A few other companies around the world are bringing out exoskeletons for people with disabilities, but Ekso Bionics' push in 2012 may give it an marketing advantage. Ten top U.S. rehab clinics have already signed up for the first batch of production units. One of the first devices will go to Mount Sinai Hospital, in New York City. This is where chairman of the department of rehabilitation medicine, has treated spinal cord patients for 40 years. Their patients' priorities have never changed. "The first thing they want to know is whether they will ever walk again," says Ragnarsson. "As their physician, I always have to address that very question."
But all these contraptions proved too difficult for the patients to operate weight becomes a concern without spine functions . "They were completely exhausted after just a few steps," he says. Ragnarsson thinks the Ekso can succeed where so many others failed, because the powered device does most all of the labor for the patient. "I'm optimistic, actually, that this will work well," he says. 
"I think my patients will be able to stand up and take a few steps and face the next person directly on to say hello. Ekso has benefited Tamara Mena, who was paralyzed in 2005. Gleefully she puts her exoskeleton walking suit through its paces regularly. When you put on Exso your job is to balance your upper body, shifting your weight as you plant a walking stick on the right. Your physical therapist will then use a remote control to signal the left leg to step forward. In a later model the walking sticks will have motion sensors inbuilt that communicate with the legs, allowing the user to take complete control of this device.
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