[Video] Richmond Times-Dispatch: VA Medical Center receives bionic suit

Richmond Times-Dispatch: VA Medical Center receives bionic suit

 

Device allows soldiers who are paralyzed to stand up and walk

Posted: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 10:30pm

by TAMMIE SMITH, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Whirring a little like a Transformer and looking a little like Iron Man, Army Sgt. Dan Rose stood with the help of the bionic suit he wore and walked down the hallway of the Spinal Cord Injury & Disorders Center at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Richmond.

Rose, 29, is paralyzed from the chest down, the result of a blast while serving in the military in southern Afghanistan in April 2011.

Normally, he uses a wheelchair to get around. But at the veterans hospital on Wednesday, he demonstrated how he is able to walk with a motorized, battery-powered, 50-pound strap-on bionic suit.

With leg and arm braces and a battery backpack, users are able to move independently, untethered to ropes or other devices to stay upright.

“It’s amazing to be able to stand at eye level with people again,” said Rose, who lives in Madison, Wis., and gets care at the VA hospital there.

He was in Richmond to demonstrate the Ekso Bionics exoskeleton bionic suit, one of which is being donated to McGuire by SoldierStrong, a Connecticut-based organization that got its start sending donations of tube socks, sunscreen and baby wipes to soldiers in combat situations.

SoldierStrong has donated four of the Ekso bionic suits — the first one to Rose, who uses it at home as part of a research study, and the subsequent ones to veterans hospitals.

Each suit costs about $150,000.

“The organization was started five years ago with a simple mission of sending basic supplies to our troops on the front lines,” said Chris Meek, co-founder and chairman of SoldierStrong.

“Two years ago as the wars wound down and the troops came home, we said, ‘Are we going to close up shop or focus on some new things?’ ” Meek said.

The group shifted its focus to providing college scholarships to returning troops, he said, but then came across a magazine article on the Ekso suit.

“Suits five and six are fully funded and under construction,” Meek said.

McGuire veterans hospital will use the suit in its spinal cord rehabilitation program and in research, said Dr. Ashraf Gorgey, chief of spinal cord injury research at McGuire, and Dr. Timothy Lavis, a rehabilitation doctor and chief of the spinal cord injury unit.

“This suit will have a significant impact on all our patients,” Gorgey said. “It will not only provide them the avenue to stand up and walk, but it will provide them the opportunity to minimize several of the problems of spinal cord injury like Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” plus bone and muscle loss, he said.

McGuire’s spinal cord injury unit has 62 beds, with patients in various stages of rehabilitation.

The Ekso suit is approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration as a Class 1 device for use in hospital rehabilitation, according to an Ekso Bionics company representative.

The FDA on June 26 approved a similar device, Argo Medical Technologies’ ReWalk, for use at home and in the community.

There are an estimated 200,000 people in the U.S. with spinal cord injuries, according to the FDA letter announcing the ReWalk approval for home use.

There are limitations to the current devices, said Lavis, including the speed that people can go using them and putting on the equipment, which includes arm and leg braces.

“It’s still in infancy but down the road hopefully we can get these; as you get a wheelchair for a person, you can get the exoskeleton,” Lavis said.

McGuire spinal cord unit staff will be trained on using the device in therapy before patients are allowed to use it. The device can accommodate people 5 feet tall to 6 feet 4 inches tall and up to 220 pounds, a company spokesman said, and can be adjusted for use in about five minutes.

According to company information, a user’s weight shifts to activate sensors in the device, initiating steps. It can be adjusted as patients get more skilled at using it.

Rose said he was able to easily adjust to the device. He said he uses it at home for an hour a day.

“The physical therapists I worked with had me up and walking right away. It really wasn’t that difficult to pick up,” he said.

“The feeling is actually indescribable to be upright again,” Rose said. “After my accident, I kind of gave up on the hope of walking and just tried to focus on whatever I needed to do to get back to living an independent life. So I really didn’t think about walking again. … I’m excited to see what the technology holds for the future.”

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SoldierStrong Foundation donates Ekso Bionics(TM) robotic exoskeleton to McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia

SoldierStrong Foundation donates Ekso Bionics(TM) robotic exoskeleton to McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia

 

STAMFORD, Conn., June 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As the United States prepares to celebrate Independence Day and the intrinsic American values of innovation, freedom and limitless possibility, McGuire VA Medical Center is preparing to receive a bionic exoskeleton that represents many of these same values. The wearable robot is pioneering an industry and will help soldiers who have been paralyzed while defending America, stand up and take their first steps back on American soil. The VA medical center is the fourth recipient of an Ekso Bionics(TM) suit (OTCQB:EKSO). The Ekso GT(TM) will be donated by SoldierStrong, a non-profit organization which helps veterans. McGuire VA Medical Center serves more than 5000 paralyzed veterans in the region and will accept the suit in a donation ceremony on July 2, 2014 at 1:00 pm with a special appearance from veteran Dan Rose who will walk in an Ekso device.

The Spinal Cord Injury & Disorders Center (SCI&D COE) at McGuire Veterans Health Administration began operations in 1947 and is one of the largest of the 24 spinal cord injury centers in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center System. The SCI&D COE is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and affiliated with the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System Model Spinal Cord System. Richmond is a regional referral center that serves 13 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers across four Veteran Integrated Service Networks and five states and the District of Columbia. They also work with active duty personnel and receive patients from Department of Defense Medical Centers and private hospitals.

“We are thrilled to receive a bionic suit, we consider it the crown jewel in our technologically advanced research department,” said Dr. Gorgey, Chief of Spinal Cord Injury Research at McGuire VA Medical Center. “Our current research interest is to understand how the interaction between exercise/dietary interventions influences health and wellness after SCI. Engaging a person with SCI in active lifestyle and exercise is an important goal; however, restoring standing and walking is critical. Many of our veterans including wounded warriors are looking for opportunities to engage in walking trials. I think the addition of the Ekso Bionic Suit to our department will have significant impact on the SCI service, quality of rehabilitation provided as well as shifting in the paradigm of the rehabilitation after SCI. This will allow Hunter Holmes VA Hospital to be one of the leading VA sites in the Richmond/DC area to provide this rehabilitation opportunity to our veterans.”

The SoldierStrong Foundation, run by long time military supporter Chris Meek, has evolved from sending socks and baby wipes to soldiers on the frontline to helping veterans take their next steps back at home. SoldierStrong announced in December that, through grants and fundraising, it would donate 10 Ekso suits to VA hospitals. Public response has been overwhelming and nationwide donations supporting this initiative are part of what makes SoldierStrong’ fourth (second VA) donation possible. “Every day, members of the military put their lives on the line to help protect our country,” says SoldierStrong co-founder Chris Meek. “When they return home, they are faced with the challenges of re-acclimating to civilian life. Additionally, some have been critically wounded or paralyzed in the line of duty. We are honored to help our veterans take their next steps on American soil using Ekso Bionics technology.”

About SoldierStrong

SoldierStrong was founded in 2009 to provide basic necessities such as baby wipes, socks and sunscreen to American soldiers fighting for our country in the trenches of Afghanistan and Iraq. As more of our soldiers return home to the U.S., SoldierStrong continues to assist our nation’s heroes in re-acclimating to civilian life by offering scholarships for colleges and trade schools and offering paralyzed soldiers an opportunity to gain mobility outside of a wheelchair.

To support SoldierStrong.org in their efforts to provide services to veterans across the United States, please visit our website at www.SoldierStrong.org