The device uses motors and sensors to enable people without the ability to move lower limbs to carry out routine motor functions such as standing, walking and climbing stairs. The ReWalk is a light, wearable brace support suit which comprises DC motors at the joints, rechargeable batteries, an array of sensors and a computer-based control system.
"We aim to end the 200-year monopoly of the wheelchair," said Dr. Amit Goffer, the CEO and founder of the company that is developing ReWalk – Argo Medical Technologies. "The device promises to restore the dignity of disabled persons, enabling them to work and improve their general health and quality of life, as well as significantly reduce medical and other related expenses," says Goffer.
The product is still in the prototype stage but Goffer told BioIsrael that upon completion of fund-raising the company could have a product on the market within four years.
Goffer is also the founder of Odin Medical, the developer of a mini-MRI imaging device which enables brain surgeons to conduct real-time brain scans in the operating room.
"Before I came up with the idea for both the mini-MRI and ReWalk, I was puzzled by the question of why each product didn’t already exist as each meets such an obvious and large need," says Goffer.
There are already devices on the market that seek to bring mobility to the immobile, but what makes ReWalk unique is the way in which the user is actively involved in the walk-restoration and other mobility functions. Upper-body motions are analyzed and used to trigger and maintain normal walk patterns and common movements like standing up from the sitting position. "Also, it’s important to point out that because the ReWalk is snugly fitted on the body and worn underneath the clothing, it also helps the users avoid the type of visible stigma that a wheelchair user faces," says Goffer.
Goffer hopes that ReWalk will enable many people with disabilities to regain mobility and enable them to enter or return to the workforce, as well.
"We aim to end the 200-year monopoly of the wheelchair," said Dr. Amit Goffer, the CEO and founder of the company that is developing ReWalk – Argo Medical Technologies. "The device promises to restore the dignity of disabled persons, enabling them to work and improve their general health and quality of life, as well as significantly reduce medical and other related expenses," says Goffer.
The product is still in the prototype stage but Goffer told BioIsrael that upon completion of fund-raising the company could have a product on the market within four years.
Goffer is also the founder of Odin Medical, the developer of a mini-MRI imaging device which enables brain surgeons to conduct real-time brain scans in the operating room.
"Before I came up with the idea for both the mini-MRI and ReWalk, I was puzzled by the question of why each product didn’t already exist as each meets such an obvious and large need," says Goffer.
There are already devices on the market that seek to bring mobility to the immobile, but what makes ReWalk unique is the way in which the user is actively involved in the walk-restoration and other mobility functions. Upper-body motions are analyzed and used to trigger and maintain normal walk patterns and common movements like standing up from the sitting position. "Also, it’s important to point out that because the ReWalk is snugly fitted on the body and worn underneath the clothing, it also helps the users avoid the type of visible stigma that a wheelchair user faces," says Goffer.
Goffer hopes that ReWalk will enable many people with disabilities to regain mobility and enable them to enter or return to the workforce, as well.