Robot suit giving victims chance to walk

Cyclone Technologies, in Ottringham, near Hull, will soon be taking orders for the ‘P’ model of ReWalk – an individually-tailored upright walking device which offers an alternative to the wheelchair for people with severe walking impairments.

It enables its users to stand, walk and ascend and descend stairs using battery-powered motors. The motion is controlled by a computer and by sensors using complex algorithms.

Dave Hawkins, managing director of Cyclone Technologies, which has a head count of 10, explained the ‘I’ model of ReWalk is currently available for training and therapy. But he added that in June or July he expects to start taking orders for the ‘P’ model.

Costing around £43,000, the ‘P’ model is a personal device intended for daily use, mainly by paraplegics, after medical examination and training. Cyclone Technologies has already received over 300 enquiries from around the world, Mr Hawkins said.

The firm won the contract to the rights for ReWalk in the UK and Ireland in April last year from Israeli company Argo Medical Technologies, which developed the exoskeleton technology. The devices are built in Israel, while Cyclone Technologies distributes them and trains people to use them. Mr Hawkins said: “We are the first company in the world to promote this and we are very proud of that.”

He said Cyclone Technologies is helping Argo Medical Technologies to develop the next version of ReWalk.

ReWalk may be suited to leg amputees, stroke victims, people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS), as well as those who have spinal injuries, said Mr Hawkins.

Mr Hawkins, who himself is paraplegic, after breaking his back in September 1980 in a road traffic accident, said: “This year we invested upward of £300,000 in ReWalk to take it to market and to build an assessment centre for that. We built a massive gymnasium assessment centre where people can try out ReWalk.”

The company’s turnover for the year to the end of March 2011 was £1.2m with pre-tax profits of £48,000, while its turnover for this financial year is expected to hit £1.5m. Mr Hawkins said that it “would not be unreasonable to think” that turnover could almost double over the next year to 18 months thanks to sales of ReWalk.

“The figures could be absolutely incredible. It’s a very positive thing for the company and for the country.” He added: “ReWalk will give a competent user a completely independent, normal life.”

Mr Hawkins said that as well as the psychological benefits ReWalk brings, the device is also beneficial for maintaining good bone density, keeping tendons stretched and for pressure relief.

He added: “We had a young lad in who had broken his neck as he was involved in a car accident two and a half years ago. By the end of the week he was walking independently.”

Out of the 10 people who work at Cyclone Technologies, four are wheelchair users, said Mr Hawkins. “Between us we have accumulated 100 years of wheelchair experience. We’ve got the ‘school of life’ t-shirt so advice is generally given by a person in a wheelchair.”

As well as making sales to indi viduals, Cyclone Technologies also hopes to supply spinal injury units in the future.

Mr Hawkins stressed that in order to use ReWalk there are a number of criteria an individual must meet.

A person must have a cognitive ability, must be able to hold crutches and must have a range of movement that means he or she can lock their knees out and stand up straight.

The Yorkshire Post recently reported that a separate company, US-based Ekso Bionics, creator of the exoskeleton Ekso, had collaborated with specialist clinic, Technology in Motion, to launch a centre in Leeds, where spinal injury patients could try out its bionic suit.