SoylentNews

First Exoskeleton Gets FDA Approval For U.S. Sales

posted by n1 on Saturday June 28 2014, @08:18AM   
from the waiting-for-gray-fox-edition dept.

AnonTechie writes:

A motorized exoskeleton, designed to help paralyzed people walk again, just earned U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. It is the first such device to do so.

The device, called ReWalk, straps on a user's body and helps those with certain spinal-cord injuries to sit, stand, and walk. Users have to wear a backpack to carry the ReWalk's computer and battery. They also have to wear a wrist device with buttons to tell the motorized legs when to stand up, sit down, or start walking. But it's not like users are punching every step into their wrist controllers — ReWalk's legs also respond to movements of the user's torso, so that leaning forward triggers a step.

• Re:True purpose of the device (Score: 2) by carguy on Saturday June 28 2014, @06:20PM

  by carguy (568) on Saturday June 28 2014, @06:20PM (#61376)

  Here is some early research. The Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (CAL) "man amplifier" from 1962 was envisioned to be used like a fork lift, that you climb into and "wear"--
      www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/290070.pdf
  Lots of information on joint motions, balance constraints, and other basic details. 75 pages with concepts and plots.

  Intro:
  "Modern man, with his reasoning power, memory and nervous system,
  is capable of controlling forces and machines of tremendous size and speed.
  On the other hand, in many instances, his muscular development, from the
  standpoints of strength and endurance, does not adequately complement his
  highly refined intelligence. The Man Amplifier principle conceivably would
  alleviate this mismatch of human intelligence and muscular power."

  p22:
  "The above data indicating the normal ranges of some of the human
  joints for certain particular motions of the limbs are useful in that they
  serve as a guide for estimating the joint range requirements of a Man
  Amplifier device. However, several factors revealed in this study of human
  joints are worth noting since they may present major problems affecting
  Man Amplifier component designs. One factor is that the instantaneous
  centers of rotation of human joints do not remain fixed at a point, i. e. , the
  motion is not circular as would be obtained in a pin-centered joint. This
  means that, to avoid painful results, the man must have freedom to adjust
  his position in the exoskeletal structure to maintain his instantaneous centers
  in alignment with the exoskeletal joint axes. For most joints, the magnitude
  of the joint center shift is probably quite small; e.g., in reference 4, it
  is stated that, at the elbow joint, the cluster of instantaneous centers range
  over an area of about one-half-inch diameter. At the shoulder, however,
  the effective center of the composite system of joints between the trunk and
  humerus moves over a wide range of locations. The problem visualized
  here has to do with the sensors used to control the skeletal motions. If,
  because of the shifting about of his joint centers, the man must be able to
  move around inside the Man Amplifier structure, the sensors must be so
  designed as to permit this movement without producing signals which would
  result in unwanted forces or motions of the machine."

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		2