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

 

[Video] WCVB-TV Boston: SoldierStrong Boston VA Donation Ceremony

WCVB-TV Boston: SoldierStrong Boston VA Donation Ceremony

WCVB-TV Channel 5 ABC Boston covers the SoldierStrong exosuit donation ceremony to the West Roxbury, MA. VA Medical Center. Visit our website for more news and information on our nonprofit for veterans and to learn more about the SoldierSuit!

LaCrosse Tribune: Paralyzed veteran hopes robotics will let him walk again

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LaCrosse Tribune: Paralyzed veteran hopes robotics will let him walk again

 

STEVEN VERBURG, Wisconsin State Journal

MADISON — Just less than three years ago, a powerful bomb blast ripped the earth apart along a remote road in Afghanistan, leaving Army Sgt. Dan Rose paralyzed from the chest down.

Since then, the Tomah native has plied Rocky Mountain powder on specially adapted skis, completed his first marathon in a wheelchair and surfed on ocean waves atop a longboard.

Now he’s ready to stand up and walk again — on a limited basis — with the help of a $128,000 “wearable robot” that was recently delivered to his Madison apartment.

The motorized, computer-assisted mechanism looks like something out of science fiction, but it’s a product of a growing medical robotics industry that offers new hope to some of the tens of thousands of people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, strokes and other neurological disorders.

For Rose, it’s the next step in his rapid ascent from the deep depression and hopelessness that plagued him for months after he regained consciousness on April 27, 2011, looked through a window spider-webbed with cracks in his upended armored vehicle and realized his legs were numb and lifeless.

Next month, several of Rose’s friends will be trained to help him safely maneuver in his robotic suit. Until then, Rose said, the manufacturer is withholding start-up instructions.

“I asked them a few times how to work it, but they wouldn’t tell me,” Rose said, a small, mischievous smile on his bearded face. “They kind of know what kind of person I am. I am kind of adventurous.”

Rose is the second paralyzed U.S. military veteran to own a motorized “exoskeleton” manufactured by Ekso Bionics of Richmond, Calif.

Ekso is one of a few pioneering companies developing this type of strap-on robotic device. It is primarily a rehabilitation tool that helps paraplegic men and women stay flexible and reduce medical problems created by prolonged inactivity.

But the robots can also be used, with limits, for getting around on any solid, flat floor or pavement, said Ekso spokeswoman Heidi Darling.

You may not see Rose striding down State Street anytime soon, because the machine isn’t designed to step over street curbs. But he said he’ll be walking on bike paths as soon as the snow clears.

Drive and determination

Rose’s drive and determination are among the reasons one of his doctors nominated him to be the recipient of the first of 10 suits being purchased and given away by the Stamford, Conn.-based nonprofit Soldier Socks.

“A big question was, can you find a person who will utilize the Ekso Bionic suit as a full user rather than the exercise bike that sits out and gathers dust in the garage,” said Dr. Ken Lee, who heads the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at the Milwaukee Veterans Hospital.

Rose has been an enthusiastic participant at the clinic, mentoring others and signing up for hand-bicycling, water-skiing and kayaking.

“He is one of these people who is not a couch potato,” Lee said. “This suit is not going to sit around in his living room as a trophy. My only concern is that he’s going to overuse the suit and get into a medical problem, although there haven’t been any medical problems reported by users.”

Rose, 29, earned a biochemistry degree from UW-Eau Claire while serving in the Army Reserve at Fort McCoy for five years. In 2010, he transferred to a unit bound for Afghanistan to sweep roads for hidden bombs.

“His outlook on life is very refreshing,” Lee said. “No matter where he goes people gravitate to him. He’s the class clown, the class nerd and also very intellectual.”

Rose said it wasn’t easy for him to accept his injury. After the blast he spent time in veterans hospitals before he returned to his family’s home.

“He had a lot of depression,” said Rose’s stepfather, Mike Roush. “We had heart to heart talks. There were a lot of tears. I told him ‘Everybody else can pity you, but we’re going to push you.’”

He was frequently in bed watching television, and he wasn’t working hard on his rehabilitation, Roush said. The turning point came eight months after the bomb laid him low.

“We got him signed up for a ski trip in Colorado, where one of his sisters lives,” Roush said. “At first he didn’t want to go. He was scared.”

Rose said he remembers getting out of the ski lift at the top.

“That was really the moment when the clouds parted,” Rose said. “I realized that there was a lot for me to do.”

Many people who are paralyzed go through years and years of depression. It’s natural to go through a period of grieving, but some reach acceptance sooner than others, Lee said.

“Certain types of people bounce back sooner,” Lee said. “ People who get involved in activities early bounce back early.”

RoboCop

After the ski trip, Rose became active at the Milwaukee clinic. He piloted an Ekso suit when it was brought there for a demonstration. More recently he trained at Ekso headquarters in California.

One day, a company physical therapist walked with him to a nearby commercial district. Rose said he and the therapist had fun seeing shoppers’ eyes widen.

“I told her we should take it to the RoboCop premiere,” Rose said, referring to the recently released film. “We’d definitely get on the red carpet.”

Rose said he learned quickly, but at the end of four or five hours in the suit he was mentally exhausted.

When someone is learning to use the device, a physical therapist controls it with what looks like a simple remote for a television. Eventually, the user takes control, pushing buttons on cuff crutches to make the legs swing. Experienced users learn to trigger each step by leaning forward and to one side to trigger the motors, which are wired to an on-board computer that analyzes signals from sensors to determine where the user’s legs, arms and center of gravity are.

“It’s really a weird feeling, because you’re not moving your leg,” Rose said. “The machine is doing it, like you’re a puppet.”

Rose said sometimes he got stuck momentarily because he would mentally will his legs to move instead of leaning to the correct position to fire the motors.

Eye to eye

Someday the robot suits will be controlled by sensors that detect brain impulses, said Shean Phelps, who tracks advances in the field as health technology development director at Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta.

Much research is being done, but there are probably fewer than 100 robot suits in use nationally in rehabilitation clinics, Phelps said, although he’s not aware of anyone who has an actual count.

Ekso officials said it has built 80. About 60 are in use by customers such as civilian and military rehabilitation clinics, with a few of those reserved as loaners for when maintenance must be done. Ten are used for research and fewer than 10 are owned by individuals, said Darling, the Ekso spokeswoman.

Several companies build similar robotic devices, but Ekso’s model can be used by people with more severe paralysis that has left them without sensation or motor control above the waist, Phelps said.

Besides the robot technology’s benefits to the body, it gives users a huge psychological boost. To understand, Rose said, you have to imagine being seated for years around other people who are standing.

Rose remembered the first time he sat down and strapped into the machine. He leaned forward and pushed down on the crutches. The suit came to life and lifted him to standing position.

“You’re standing at eye level with everyone in the room,” Rose said. “It’s a nice change of perspective. You kind of forget what it’s like.”

It struck him another time when he stood up next to a physical therapist who was shorter than him.

“I felt like a giant,” Rose said.

[Video] FOX News Health: Helping paralyzed soldiers take their first steps

FOX News Health: Helping paralyzed soldiers take their first steps

by Lindsay Carlton
Published March 05, 2014·
FoxNews.com

They put their lives on the line for the good of our country every day- American troops aren’t just patriotic heroes, they are survivors.

29 year-old Sgt. Dan Rose from Wisconsin is one of those survivors. He was deployed to southern Afghanistan and returned home with a spinal cord injury that left him unable to use his legs.

“It was April 27th, 2011. Our job was to drive around looking for road side bombs that our insurgents would emplace. My platoon found 100 percent of IED’s up until that day, until the one found us,” Rose told FoxNews.com.

Rose’s truck was hit by about a thousand pounds of explosives.

“All three of us should have been dead– it was a one in a million shot that we made it–but we’re still here and that’s the most important part,” he said.

Paralyzed from the chest down, Rose completed his rehab at the James A. Hailey VA in Tampa, Florida and moved back home to Milwaukee.

Frustrated by the new obstacles in his life, Rose had to make a choice– was he going to let his injury define him?

“I had a ton of nurses and doctors tell me, ‘You know there are all these great things you can do, [like] sports,’ but when you’re sitting in a hospital bed you think, ‘Well that’s easy for you to say— you still have legs,’” Rose said. “But once I got further into the rehab, the recreation therapist got me out there to see all these things and I actually started to realize that they were right — there are all sorts of things you can do.”

Rose kept his word—with the help of adaptive sports equipment he completed his first Marathon, skied the Rockies, mined gold in Alaska and surfed the Atlantic Ocean.

Another chance

It wasn’t until Ekso Bionics came to Milwaukee that Rose discovered he would get another chance to move the way he did before the accident.

Ekso Bionics, a pioneer in the field of robotic exoskeletons, came to do a demo at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center with their new bionic suit. The Ekso suit is used in rehabilitation clinics to help patients with spinal cord injuries or stroke walk again.

In the suit, walking is achieved when the patient’s weight shifts to activate sensors in the device that initiate the steps. The battery-powered motors act like our leg muscles to pick up the inactive leg and put it down in a normal walking pattern.

Rose was chosen to participate in the demonstration that day and was able to walk in the suit.

“It was amazing, I didn’t want to stop. To be able to stand upright, be eye level with people again and then actually walk across a room- it was something that I’d originally thought was a pipe dream and gave up on a long time ago, but all of a sudden there I am doing it,” Rose said.

Over 40 rehab programs across North America, Europe and Africa have purchased an Ekso suit, but Rose’s hospital wasn’t one of them. As fate would have it, one of the chief doctors discovered a way to give Rose one more opportunity with the suit.

“Dr. Lee gave me a call out of the blue, and was telling me, ‘Hey, there’s this nonprofit organization out there that’s giving away one of those Ekso suits. I want to put you in for it,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, you know that’d be awesome’- but I kind of thought it was like buying a Powerball ticket,” Rose said.

The nonprofit organization, Soldier Socks, was first created to provide simple supplies like tube socks and baby wipes to troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Almost five years later, Soldier Socks has shipped over 50,000 pounds of supplies, created special veteran’s education grants and scholarships. Now they are partnering with Ekso Bionics to provide exoskeleton suits to help paralyzed veterans walk again.

Soldier Socks selected Rose to be their first recipient of an Ekso suit.

“I was waiting and hoping that the Milwaukee VA center would get one, but I never dreamed of having one on my own,” he said.

Customized training

Rose uses the suit to exercise and practice standing and stepping.

In any Ekso suit training exercise, the patient is always under the supervision of a trained physical therapist (PT). The PT works with the patient to figure out where their body should be in order to be balanced for each step and enters their assessment into the robot so the patient and robot can move together smoothly.

“There are a lot of different ways we can program the suit to help people that have a variety of neurological injuries or disorders that impair their ability to walk,” Melissa Pullia, a physical therapist and Clinical manager with Ekso Bionics, told FoxNews.com. “We can actually program the device to work specifically on gait training activities that we would do in a physical therapy session. I can change the motor program of the suit to supplement what areas of strength the patient doesn’t have so they are able to work on stepping.”

While all the benefits of using the Ekso suit have yet to be fully researched, there are early reports that patients can benefit from the range of motion and different circulation patterns that help with blood flow.

“Some people have decreased pain when their standing and walking and decreased spasticity. A lot of people also report that there is the benefit, sort of a pyscho-social benefit, of standing upright and being able to look people in the eye,” Pullia said.

Soldier Socks is donating their next Ekso suit to the VA Boston Healthcare System, which serves veterans from Maine to Connecticut and currently has over 500 paralyzed veterans attending their facility.

“It’s just nice to know that the technology is there and I can’t wait to see where the next generations are going to go as the technology advances,” Rose said.

For more information on Soldier Socks and how you can donate, go to www.SoldierStrong.com.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/03/04/helping-paralyzed-soldiers-take-their-first-steps/