The technology is helping Alter High School senior, Ben Waker, who was paralyzed in a surfing accident, take steps again. Waker, 18, suffered a spinal injury while surfing at Daytona Beach in Florida three years ago.
“The doctors told me I would have no use of my legs and limited use of my arms and hands,” Waker said.
Waker underwent physical therapy following the incident. He eventually regained some control of his limbs, but he still had challenges with taking steps.
“It made a huge difference,” Waker’s mother, Patti Waker, said about the equipment. “He can actually walk around and through rooms.”
The battery-powered exoskeleton cost $140,000, hospital officials said. It attaches to the patients limbs and waist. Physical therapists are able to then help them to their feet. Once they have found their balance, often with the help of crutches or a walker, the therapist is able to program the speed and length of each step the patient takes.
“It reminds me of the super hero Iron Man’s suit,” Waker said. “It allows me to do some of the movement and does the things I can’t do for me.”
Miami Valley is the first in the Dayton area and only the second facility in Ohio to offer this to patients. Dr. Antony Jacob, medical director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, said patients who have suffered from strokes and spinal injuries have shown improvement with balance and have been able to decrease bone loss and pain.
However, the exoskeleton still has a long way to go. It’s current weight limit is 220 pounds. It also requires a lot of help from others to attach it properly and isn’t ready to be used outside extensively.
“We want to adjust how much it can hold, and make it smaller so patients can put it on easily,” Jacob said.
Waker has been using the new technology for two months. He said it has inspired him to study robotics at the University of Arizona next fall.
“It’s just as easy as anything else in life,” he said. “You just have to keep working for it.
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