This could be the solution that the physically disabled have been looking for.

A high-tech mobility device is helping South African quadriplegics learn how to walk again.

It’s called the Ekso Suit, and one can already tell by the name that it’s something remarkable.

Not to mention flippin’ awesome.

Business Insider SA reports:

The suit is a mobility device used around the world in rehabilitation. It is controlled by a trained operator and stabilises patients’ joints and helps strengthen weakened muscles.

Robert Evans, a PhD candidate in exercise science and sports medicine at the University of Cape Town, is using the powered exoskeleton to help people walk again. The Ekso Suit [costing R1,4 million], produced by the US company Ekso Bionics, is currently in use at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Cape Town …

Evans is looking into the effect of robotic walking and activity-based rehabilitation on muscle activity, health-related benefits, functional capacity, and psychological well-being in persons with spinal cord injury.

Fantastic, but how does the Ekso Suit work in practice?

Quadriplegic patient Odwa Magenuka took a crack at it, and this is the result:

Mind = blown.

No doubt the Ekso Suit will be a huge game-changer in the lives of quadriplegic patients and those with other physical disabilities.

In fact, it’s already making a huge difference for wearers like Mgenuka.

Evans explained:

I can tell you so far that we have seen large improvements in both groups. We’re looking deep into the data, monitoring their changes in multiple domains such as muscle activation, blood circulation, bone density and psychological outlook, for example.

We intend to have the preliminary results ready for a conference in August.

The future is looking bright, my friends.

[source:businessinsidersa]