Here’s an uplifting story to start the week. ReWalk is an invention of an Israeli company (of course). There’s a video at the link to CBS but it maybe geographically blocked unfortunately.
SAN DIEGO — A Marine who was left paralyzed by a sniper’s bullet in Afghanistan fulfilled a promise to himself on Friday and walked using robotic leg braces in a ceremony at Camp Pendleton, where he was awarded a Bronze Star.
The crowd of 300 Marines was silent as Capt. Derek Herrera walked. All that was heard was the faint whirring of electric motors from the device.
Herrera then stood, holding onto one crutch. With his other hand, he saluted his commanding officer, who presented him the award.
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The ReWalk is a robotic exoskeleton system that allows people with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk. Several competing products that use the technology – nicknamed “electronic legs” or “powered exoskeletons” – are also being used and tested in U.S. rehab hospitals. None so far are fast enough to entirely replace wheelchairs.
ReWalk was cleared by the FDA for personal use, although it has been on the market outside the United States since 2012.
The device consists of leg braces with motion sensors and motorized joints that respond to subtle changes in upper-body movement and shifts in balance. A supportive belt around the patient’s waist keeps the suit in place, and a backpack holds the computer and rechargeable battery. Crutches are used for stability, and the FDA requires an assistant be nearby. Herrera’s wife assists him.
The MARSOC Foundation, a charitable fund for members of the Marine Corps Special Operations Command, raised the money for Herrera to buy the $69,500 device.
Herrera is working on a master’s degree in business administration at the University of California, Los Angeles and plans to start his own business.
“Every day is a choice to live, love, inspire, honor the fallen, make the world a better place and walk in the footsteps of giants,” Herrera wrote in a Thanksgiving holiday column published by UT San Diego in 2013.
