Mark Pollock with his trainer. A robotic exoskeleton has allowed Mark Pollock to gain some control of his legs once again. (via eksobionics & UCLA)
Could this exoskeleton suit be the next medical breakthrough in helping those paralyzed from the waist down walk again? Recent results involving patient Mark Pollock may suggest so. Pollock, who was paralyzed from the waist down in 2010, has tested Ekso Bionics' exoskeleton previously, but in a new video posted by UCLA he's shown to have even more progress than before. The 39-year-old was able to control his leg muscles, raise and flex his knees, and take thousands of steps with the assistance of the robotic suit. Along with this, Pollock was even able to get some feeling back in his legs due to a non invasive process known as transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation. This process includes sending electrical currents to the spinal cord via strategically placed electrodes on the lower back. With the exoskeleton suit and the stimulation process, Pollock was able to have a more natural gait as a result.
Because of this tremendous breakthrough Pollock has become the first person with complete paralysis who has able to regain enough control to actively work with a robotic device.
“It will be difficult to get people with complete paralysis to walk completely independently, but even if they don’t accomplish that, the fact they can assist themselves in walking will greatly improve their overall health and quality of life,” said V. Reggie Edgerton, senior author of the research and a UCLA professor of integrative biology and physiology, neurobiology and neurosurgery.
In order to tell how much Pollock was doing and how much the robot was doing, a device was used to capture this data. It showed that Pollock was voluntarily raising and flexing his knee and during and after electrical stimulation, he was able to assist the robot while walking meaning the robot wasn't doing all the work.
Pollock himself is a superman of sorts. Before his 2010 accident he lost his eyesight in 1998, yet never let it stop him. He has competed in endurance races across deserts, mountains, and polar ice caps. To top it all off he also won silver and bronze medals in rowing at the Commonwealth Games. With his latest progress, he's sure to be unstoppable.
The exoskeleton was designed by California based Ekso Bionics, who have been developing the suit for over 10 years. It is available commercially with the large price tag of roughly $110,000. But if it can help those who can no longer walk gain some control over their body, it's worth every penny.
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