Individuals with spinal cord injuries may just have renewed hope for more accessible and independent lifestyles. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the home use of  the ReWalk robot exoskeleton. The device acts as a “wearable robot”, by assisting paraplegics to walk upright and be mobile.

The device is one of the most elegant in its league, utilizing a combination of motorized sensors that detect the side-to-side shifting of the user’s body weight characteristic of walking, in conjunction with a computer-based system to control movement and imitate walking motions. The device also provides brace supports that complement the motion of the user while being steadily supportive.

ReWalk is also responsible for major health benefits in users. According to Allan Kozlowski, head of the Exoskeleton-Assisted Walking Program at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, patients using ReWalk experience better circulation, increased oxygen intake, pain relief, improved bowel function, and increased psychological benefits that come from being able to stand upright and look people in the eye.

According to ReWalk, the consumer would pay approximately $69 500 in total for the device, with the fraction to be covered by insurance companies still remaining unclear.

Before being approved for home-use, ReWalk was only offered to patients in physical rehabilitation centres. Many similar devices, including ReWalk’s competitor Esko, and Indego, a newer competing device, are awaiting FDA approval.

Despite being a monumental step in technology for spinal cord injury patients, the ReWalk remains in a stage of infancy in offering complete mobile freedom to its users. With a battery life ranging from two to three hours, it also requires a great deal of effort from the user to travel large distances on varying terrain.

“They’re still at a point where we would not be comfortable saying people are absolutely independent in any environment they might want to operate them,” said Kozlowski. “It’s not pretty but it works.”

With improvements to the device and pending approval of other similar competitive devices, paraplegics may see greater use of such devices in the future.