The ReWalk exoskeleton system is set to be tested in a 160-person, four-year long, multi-center study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to evaluate the impact of exoskeleton use in a home or daily life setting.
“This VA clinical trial is groundbreaking in both its purpose and scope, and will undoubtedly provide a wealth of quality research data to the department’s already impressive research,” ReWalk CEO Larry Jasinski said in a statement.
ReWalk provided six of the company’s Personal 6.0 exoskeleton systems to be used by the VA in the study. The systems from the Marlborough and Israel-based company allows people with certain spinal injuries to walk upright rather than sit in a wheel chair.
The study will start in October and is the first of its kind to examine the impact of exoskeletons in daily life. The Department of Veterans Affairs is the largest single healthcare provider to persons with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) in the United States.
A recent study on the benefits of the ReWalk Robotics exoskeleton found significant improvements in the quality of life for an individual with spinal cord injury using the system.
