Comments on: Walking Assist Device

By: Marion

Marion — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:33:00 +0000

I take exception, Scott-O, and agree with Dave, there are lots of work related applications for this.

And one more – my youngest child was born without balance organs or any organs of hearing at all. Something like this would be ideal in helping her walk. She can walk indoors, where she gets feedback from the floor, but outdoors is a crapshoot, and forget about any kind of terrain.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:17:00 +0000

Am I the only one wanting to modify one of these to fit across the back, strapped to the arms with a giant pair of wings? How cool would that be; the personal ornithopter!

As it is, gadgets like this have huge potential, not just for people with disabilities but also construction workers, factory workers, hospital staff, etc…

By: Scott-O

Scott-O — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:13:00 +0000

Why? I can see numerous medical reasons like to assist people out of wheel chairs but really- who else would ever need one of these?

By: Tricia

Tricia — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:10:00 +0000

All that comes to mind when I look at this is “giant diaper”. It’s a really interesting idea though for people who need some help but not enough to need a wheelchair.

By: anom

anom — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:35:00 +0000

The company my husband works for in Maryland is working on these type of devices! Check out http://www.hanger.com for more info.

By: micha

micha — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:58:00 +0000

Israel also has an exoskeleton walking aid called “ReWalk”. The first recipient was also the victim of a paratrooping injury.

Story at: The story was covered by Reuters (Google: reuters israel exoskelaton) and there is a video on youtube.

-micha

By: Lelah

Lelah — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Wait a tic, I’ve seen this idea before… a decade ago. An American man had this idea first, he was an Army Ranger who broke his back parachuting. Google “human exoskeleton”.