What is the SoldierSuit?
SoldierStrong has collaborated with leading medical technology companies in the United States to ensure that cutting-edge prosthetic devices are available to our returning veterans. The SoldierStrong SoldierSuit is comprised of several state-of-the-art rehabilitation and prosthetic technologies. The SoldierSuit aids in veteran rehabilitation for a variety of combat and non-combat-related disabilities and health conditions.
Whether used in combination or individually, the components of SoldierSuit contribute to enabling disabled veterans to lead fulfilling and empowered lives well beyond their dedicated service to our country. Eligible veterans are either fitted and provided their own prosthetic devices or are given exoskeleton devices and a prescribed rehabilitation program with the equipment. Robotic exoskeleton technology is commonly used for spinal cord injuries, strokes, and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI).
SoldierSuit Partners
SoldierStrong is always open to partnering with new companies to help former service members and expand the SoldierSuit mission of transforming lives in reasonable periods of time. New partners must meet three category demands, which are reviewed by our medical advisory board. One, current insurance coverage and/or access must be limited. Two, clinically tested outcomes must be transformative in terms of recipient quality of life improvement. And three, a partner company must provide the device at or near cost. As a nonprofit for veterans, SoldierStrong works to provide advanced yet accessible physical therapy treatments for disabled veterans.
The SoldierSuit program not only helps veterans but also benefits all of the United States. Our partners create excellent American jobs that strengthen our local communities. Our partners continue to push the possibilities of technology forward and keep our country at the cutting edge. Learn more about SoldierStrong’s partners who are working to change the lives of injured veterans and their families.
Ekso Bionics
Ekso Bionics® is a leading developer of exoskeleton solutions that amplify human potential by supporting or enhancing strength, endurance, and mobility across medical and industrial applications. Based upon its industry-leading expertise, the Company focuses on improving health and quality of life with advanced robotics designed to enhance, amplify, and restore human function. Ekso Bionics is the only known exoskeleton company to offer technologies that range from helping those with paralysis to stand up and walk, to enhancing human capabilities on job sites across the globe.
Ekso Indego Personal is a wearable lower extremity powered exoskeleton that enables certain individuals living with spinal cord injuries (“SCIs”) with the ability to stand and walk independently. It is the only known portable exoskeleton device to offer a modular quick connect design, which was engineered to allow users to put on and take off the device without assistance. Ekso Indego Personal is the lightest known commercial exoskeleton available offering ease of handling, transportation, and storage. Also offering an advanced gait mode, individuals with a SCI using the device have been shown to reach faster walking speeds, granting them a new level of independence in the community.
Ekso Bionics is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EKSO.” For more information, visit: www.eksobionics.com.
“The feeling of standing and walking again is indescribable. The first time I used the rehab suit was two years after my injury, two years of living life in a wheelchair. The first time I stood up and looked across the room, it was like reaching the summit of a mountain and looking down on the world. I am very fortunate to have received this gift from SoldierStrong, and even more fortunate to be able to experience looking down on the world from my mountain every day.”
-U.S. Army Sergeant, paralyzed April 2011 by an IED in Afghanistan
Mobius Bionics
Mobius Bionics is a Manchester, NH medical device company that is changing the lives of veterans with the amazing Luke Prosthetic Arm System for upper limb amputees. The Luke Arm System was developed by DEKA Research & Development Corp. with the support of the VA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program.
The Luke Arm is the first integrated prosthetic arm system cleared by the FDA, offering a powered shoulder, humeral rotator, and multi-articulating wrist. The robotic artificial limb also has multiple preprogrammed grips and a sensor that provides grip force feedback. It’s adaptable for different amputation levels and is durable enough to withstand various environments.
Myomo
Myomo, Inc. is a medical technology company that is leading the way in extending prosthetic technology to powered bracing (exoskeleton suit) devices to restore a wide range of mobility. They use a transformative technology developed at MIT and Harvard Medical School. The company’s mission is to improve function and mobility and restore independence for individuals who suffer from debilitating muscle weakness due to neuro-muscular disabilities.
The MyoPro® is a myoelectric arm orthosis designed to enable individuals to self-initiate and control partially paralyzed or weakened arm movements. This Myomo technology uses recipients’ own muscle signals and thus helps restore function. The MyoPro is custom fit to each user and is available at select VA hospitals.
BionX Medical Technologies
Since 2006, BionX Medical Technologies has been committed to offering bionic solutions that restore normalized function and quality of life for former military service members with amputations. More than 1,000 people have experienced the power of Personal Bionics through its BiOM ankle since it was made commercially available in 2011. The BiOM ankle is the only prosthesis with real-time powered propulsion for enhanced mobility. Only BiOM Personal Bionics offers a unique combination of power, control, and stability which allows users to get more out of their daily lives without thinking about their mobility.
BionX Medical Technologies received funding support from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Army’s Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC).
