Our robotic future is almost here
Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

Holy Calvin Klein, here’s a fashion tip for men and women both—actually, for the whole human race. It turns out that in the future we’re not going to fight the robots, we’re going to wear them. Some of us already do.

I just watched a paralyzed man walk for the first time in 21 years. A battery backpack sat neatly between his shoulder blades and a sleek metal exoskeleton was strapped to his waist, knees and thighs, its computerized sensors and motors acting as muscles and nerves. He looked like Iron Man after a diet.

Originally funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the robotic suit is now being designed for regular folks. Yangchih Tan, paraplegic since a 1990 car accident, spent 52 minutes standing in it and 14 minutes walking. He took 150 steps. No steps for two decades then 150 in one go! Afterward I asked how it felt, and he said, “I forgot how tall I am.”

I met Mr. Tan at the headquarters of Ekso Bionics in Berkeley, Calif., where everything is about forward motion. By comparison, things just down the road at “Occupy Oakland” seemed a little sedentary. (The schedule last Sunday included Acoustic Music, Radical Yoga and How to Grow Medical Marijuana—definitely more 1960 than 2060.) I empathize with those “walking on” Wall Street—and sitting in, and camping out, in protests from Seoul to Stockholm. But if anyone knows about frustration, it’s those who have been told they will never walk again.

Given the slightest chance, they focus on the future and the possibility of taking actual steps. Their stories are not sentimental sidebars, either. If there’s a space race today, bionics could be it. And we could win. And that could employ quite a few people.

Companies world-wide see the potential. Rex Bionics in New Zealand, Argo Medical Technologies in Israel and Cyberdyne in Japan are all making exoskeletons. Lockheed Martin has introduced the HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier), a version of the suit that lets U.S. troops, 30% of whom get chronic back injuries, double the poundage they can carry without the strain. These machines soon may help not just the paralyzed but the aging, maybe even those who busted their knees skiing that Christmas in the Alps.

The wheelchair first appeared in A.D. 525 in China, etched on a stone sarcophagus. Attempts to replace it have been filling junkyards for 1,500 years. Nobody wants to add to the heap, so the new technology is held to a high standard.

Some inventors outside the U.S. say that their bionic progress is being blocked by the Food and Drug Administration (they call it “Forget Distribution in America”). But the real issue seems to be the ambition of the robots: FDA requirements get more stringent the more personal, and unsupervised, devices like these become.

“We are all at the starting line,” says Eythor Bender, chief executive of Ekso, which is purposefully developing its exoskeleton first for use with physical therapists in rehab centers (with a ticket price of $130,000), then for monitored home use, and only after that, in 2013-14, for true personal use. “Getting someone to walk after 20 years—that’s a risky maneuver,” says Mr. Bender. “We’re going step by step.”

The company is targeting only those with spinal-cord injuries. They are a small portion of the 68 million world-wide in wheelchairs, but they tend to be young and spirited. What often got them into the wheelchair—daring—is what helps to get them out.

“China—that’s where I’m aiming,” says Mr. Tan. He wants his own exoskeleton, with matching sensor-studded crutches, so that he can walk the Great Wall. It was amazing, he says, to be vertical and talking eye-to-eye again: “I got my dignity back. I don’t always have to look up.”

The big breakthrough, for whichever company dominates the bionics market, will be size. Ekso’s exoskeleton weighs a scant 50 pounds, and the user doesn’t feel it—the weight is totally transferred to the ground through its metal “bones.” Still, the battery pack could be three times smaller, says Mr. Bender. Eventually the device may be so pared down that you could wear it like underwear. Boxer shorts may be good-looking. But this is gorgeous.

The National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) has been working with the Shepherd Center in development of a new DVD for recently injured people and their family members.  “Understanding Spinal Injury” is now available on DVD.  It is narrated by Judy Fortin, former CNN anchor and medical correspondent, and features some of the nation’s top neuroscientists, physicians, and spinal injury experts to help people understand their new injury, the path to recovery and functional expectation.

The video speals directly to recently injured people and their family members in the acute care setting, and aims to increase families’ comfort levels while they are still in the trauma center.  It features some of the nation’s top physicians and brain injury expects.

“Understanding Spinal Cord Injury” was produced by Shepherd Center in collaboration with the American Trauma Society, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.  You may order copies of the DVD directly at http://www.spinalinjury101.org/.

by NBC25 Newsroom

June 13, 2011

Dr. Sami Makhoul has helped a paralyzed man regain some movement.

BAD AXE — A local man searched the globe to find a cure when he was paralyzed in a tragic four-wheeler accident, and he found his answer here in Mid-Michigan.
Eddy Tarzwell, Imlay City, was in a tragic four-wheeler accident in August of 2003. The accident left him with a severe spinal cord injury called Central Cord Syndrome.

Eddy and his wife Marcia searched for a treatment option that could help improve his condition.  Their search took them to China for experimental treatments involving stem cells.
But Eddy says he saw no improvement, and the treatments were expensive.

“[My] fingers were just limp,” says Eddy.
Last November Eddy began to see a doctor who treats spinal cord injuries with a method call spinal decompression.

Dr. Sami Makhoul, a chiropractor at Health Quest of Badaxe, says he has seen major improvement in Eddy since he first began with his treatments.
“His spirit was better, he felt better, he was able to do some work with his shoulders, something I was very impressed with,” says Dr. Makhoul.
Eddy’s caretaker says she has also seen more than just a physical improvement.

“Psycologically he’s doing a lot better also,” she says.
Dr. Makhoul says spinal decompression works by taking the pressure off the spinal cord, and has allowed Eddy to move his arms and legs, which is something he was unable to do before.

*Author: NBC25’s Jessica Lyons

Courtesy of the Wall Street Journal

By KATHERINE HOBSON

In a potential breakthrough for the treatment of spinal-cord injuries, a man paralyzed below the chest has regained some ability to move and stand through the use of electrical stimulation coupled with intense physical rehabilitation—a combination previously shown to work only in animals.

VIDEO LINK: Bringing fresh hope to those living with paralysis, a man paralyzed below the waist regained some ability to stand and move through the use of an electrostimulation device and intense physical rehabilitation. WSJ\’s Christina Tsuei reports

This is the first such success in humans, so researchers on the case—from the University of Louisville, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology—remain cautious. They say findings must be replicated in many patients, and many technological questions answered, before spinal stimulation could be considered for wider use.

Still, spinal-cord injury experts say the work, if it holds up under further research, opens the door to new therapies that could improve the outlook for paralyzed patients.

Rob Summers, 25 years old, was hit by a car in 2006 and paralyzed below the chest, though he retained some feeling in the area below his injury. As part of a research project at the University of Louisville, he underwent 26 months of locomotor training, a rehabilitative technique in which he was suspended in a harness over a treadmill while therapists moved his legs to make a stepping motion. (That by itself can produce improvements in patients who retain some motor function.)

Rob Summers, a paraplegic, has been able to stand and take repeated steps after spinal-cord stimulation and intense physical rehabilitation.

Mr. Summers then had surgery to implant a device with 16 electrodes placed on key parts of the spinal cord. With the device delivering constant electrical stimulation, Mr. Summers has been able to stand up using his own leg muscles while holding on to bars for support. He can remain standing, bearing his own weight for up to four minutes at a stretch, and take steps on a treadmill with assistance, according to the researchers.

“I didn’t move a toe for four years,” said Mr. Summers. “I stood up on the third day they turned the stimulator on,” he said. “There are not enough words to describe how I felt.”

Under stimulation, Mr. Summers is also able to voluntarily move his hips, ankles and toes. And he has gotten back some bladder and sexual function.

“This probably changes the field fairly dramatically,” said Ronald Reeves, vice chairman of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., who wasn’t involved in the research. “It’s the first time that there’s compelling scientific evidence that you can, with the electrostimulation of the spinal cord, create a favorable motor response.”

As in most spine injuries, Mr. Summers’ spinal cord wasn’t totally severed, though the damage was severe enough to prevent the brain from signaling the spinal cord to initiate movement.

The research, published Thursday by The Lancet, suggests using electrical stimulation to stand in for the signals the brain usually sends to the spinal cord is enough to produce at least basic movement. The stimulation primes nerve cells that, even without the brain, can receive sensory information and act on it.

“Not only can they sense and feel what’s happening, they know what to do next. If you’re standing on one leg and your joints are in a certain position, that’s a sign you’re getting ready to step,” said study co-author Reggie Edgerton, of the department of integrative biology and comparative physiology at UCLA.

One unknown: whether the stimulation could produce movement in patients whose spinal cords were completely severed.

Further research is also needed on more-sophisticated stimulation devices—the current one is normally used in pain control—and on the possibility of adding drugs to further sensitize neural circuits in the spinal cord, said study co-author Susan Harkema, rehabilitation-research director at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville.

The research was supported by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

NEW YORK, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — United Spinal Association and National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA), two leading nonprofits with more than 125 years of combined service to the disability community, have recently announced their intended merger unifying resources to become the single, largest membership organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) nationwide.

The combined organization will significantly increase the membership base and will give all members access to a wide range of national programs and services, including an established community of local affiliates. Equally important will be the powerful, authentic consumer voice that the merger will provide at the national level.

Since 1946, United Spinal Association has been committed to protecting the rights of people with SCI/D through initiatives in advocacy and civil rights; government policy and legislation; disability travel; accessible building and universal design; publications; research and education; and wheelchair and assistive technology.

NSCIA–which educates and empowers people living with SCI/D to achieve and maintain the highest levels of independence, health and personal fulfillment–serves its members through a combination of national programs and a nationwide network of more than 60 chapters and support groups. NSCIA will continue to operate under its current name and brand, but will expand to become the membership arm of United Spinal Association.

United Spinal Association recently acquired the premier wheelchair lifestyle magazine New Mobility in fall of 2010, to provide the disability community unprecedented access to information, resources and opportunity.

“Together, our organizations can be a stronger advocate on behalf of our community and directly respond to the needs of our members,” says Paul J. Tobin, president and CEO of United Spinal Association. “United Spinal brings a legacy of public policy and advocacy on behalf of the community, and NSCIA brings greater direct access to the community through its chapters and public support networks.”

Tobin will continue in his capacity as president and CEO to lead the combined organization.

“Our national network of local affiliates will connect directly with our combined membership to significantly improve the quality of life for people living with spinal cord injuries and disorders,” adds K. Eric Larson, NSCIA executive director and CEO, who will take on additional responsibilities as senior vice president for membership and chapter services within United Spinal Association. “That’s what has always driven us, and that is the foundation upon which we are building,” Larson added.

United Spinal Association and NSCIA have successfully collaborated in key areas during the past three years. The organizations co-founded Spinal Cord Central, a web-based SCI/D resource center in 2008 and have been working to forward a common public policy agenda through Spinal Cord Advocates––their joint public policy initiative with a shared Washington, D.C.-based office. In 2007, United Spinal Association and NSCIA created the Spinal Cord Leaders Council, which is comprised of leaders from various organizations that advocate for, treat and conduct research on behalf of people with SCI/D.

About United Spinal Association

www.unitedspinal.org

United Spinal is a national 501(c) (3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 by paralyzed veterans and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Americans with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), including multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, ALS and post-polio. It played a significant role in writing the Americans with Disabilities Act, and made important contributions to the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Air Carrier Access Act. Membership is free and is open to all individuals with SCI/D. United Spinal was instrumental in getting New York City to create sidewalk curb ramps and accessible public transportation that has been used as a model for many United States cities.

About National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA)

www.spinalcord.org

Formed in 1948, NSCIA is the nation’s oldest and largest civilian organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for all Americans living with the results of spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D) and their families, from the onset of injury or disease and throughout all stages of life. NSCIA provides information and resources to individuals with SCI/D, their families, healthcare professionals, and service providers through a combination of national programs and a nationwide network of more than 60 chapters and support groups.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.
Paul Tobin:
http://www.profnetconnect.com/paul_tobin
K. Eric Larson:
http://www.profnetconnect.com/KEric_Larson

SOURCE United Spinal Association

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Courtesy of The Easter Seals

March 22, 2011

People with disabilities are entitled to the same courtesies you would extend to anyone, including personal privacy. If you find it inappropriate to ask people about their sex lives, or their complexions, or their incomes, extend the courtesy to people with disabilities.

* If you don’t make a habit of leaning or hanging on people, don’t lean or hang on someone’s wheelchair. Wheelchairs are an extension of personal space.

* When you offer to assist someone with a vision impairment, allow the person to take your arm. This will help you to guide, rather than propel or lead, the person.

* Treat adults as adults. Call a person by his or her first name only when you extend this familiarity to everyone present. Don’t patronize people who use wheelchairs by patting them on the head. Reserve this sign of affection for children.

In conversation…

* When talking with someone who has a disability, speak directly to him or her, rather than through a companion who may be along.

* Relax. Don’t be embarrassed if you happen to use common expressions, such as “See you later” or “I’ve got to run”, that seem to relate to the person’s disability.

* To get the attention of a person who has a hearing disability, tap the person on the shoulder or wave your hand. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips. Not everyone with hearing impairments can lip-read. Those who do will rely on facial expressions and other body language to help understand. Show consideration by facing a light source and keeping your hands and food away from your mouth when speaking. Keep mustaches well-trimmed. Shouting won’t help, but written notes will.

* When talking with a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, place yourself at the wheelchair user’s eye level to spare both of you a stiff neck.

* When greeting a person with a severe loss of vision, always identify yourself and others who may be with you. Say, for example, “On my right is Andy Clark”. When conversing in a group, remember to say the name of the person to whom you are speaking to give vocal cue. Speak in a normal tone of voice, indicate when you move from one place to another, and let it be known when the conversation is at an end.

* Give whole, unhurried attention when you’re talking to a person who has difficulty speaking. Keep your manner encouraging rather than correcting, and be patient rather than speak for the person. When necessary, ask questions that require short answers or a nod or shake of the head. Never pretend to understand if you are having difficulty doing so. Repeat what you understand. The person’s reaction will guide you to understanding.

Common courtesies…

* If you would like to help someone with a disability, ask if he or she needs it before you act, and listen to any instructions the person may want to give.

* When giving directions to a person in a wheelchair, consider distance, weather conditions and physical obstacles such as stairs, curbs and steep hills.

* When directing a person with a visual impairment, use specifics such as “left a hundred feet” or “right two yards”.

* Be considerate of the extra time it might take a person with a disability to get things done or said. Let the person set the pace in walking and talking.

* When planning events involving persons with disabilities, consider their needs ahead of time. If an insurmountable barrier exists, let them know about it prior to the event.

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From The Economist
March 10, 2011

Robotics: An artificial exoskeleton, akin to a pair of robotic trousers, promises to bring hope and dignity to paraplegics by letting them walk

See Economist Article here

CONFINEMENT to a wheelchair is not merely frustrating and degrading. It is positively bad for the health. People confined to wheelchairs often suffer urinary, respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive-system problems, as well as osteoporosis and pressure sores. Amit Goffer, an Israeli engineer, knows this all too well. In 1997 Dr Goffer had an accident that left him partially paralysed. Being an engineer, he decided to do something about it. The result is a pair of “robotic trousers” that he calls ReWalk.

The idea of a powered, artificial exoskeleton will be familiar to cinema-goers from films such as “Aliens” and “Avatar”. In both of those movies, however, the device amplifies the user’s power and strength. ReWalk, an exoskeletal version of the pelvic girdle and the legs’ bones and muscles, has a more modest aim: to restore power and strength to the user’s legs.

ReWalk consists of a set of plastic-covered aluminium struts, linked by actuator motors, that are strapped to the legs and waist, and a backpack. With these, and a pair of crutches for backup, a user can walk around. An array of sensors distributed along the struts and around the wearer’s body feeds information to a computer in the backpack, which tells the actuators what to do.

The wearer starts by telling the computer what he is trying to achieve. A remote control strapped to one wrist offers several modes of action: “stand”, “sit”, “walk”, and “ascend” and “descend” for staircases. Once strapped in, the user chooses “walk” mode, pushes his crutches outward and is off. Algorithms devised by Dr Goffer’s colleagues at Argo Medical Technologies, the firm he founded to develop ReWalk, analyse the data from the sensors and use the result to operate the actuators. Experience shows the device can be worn all day without discomfort.

ReWalk is now undergoing trials in Israel, America and Europe. Two versions of the device are being developed. One, for supervised use in hospitals and rehabilitation centres, is already available for sale in Europe for €87,500 ($120,000) and has just been approved in America. The other, for the unsupervised use of those who have undergone such training, is still under scrutiny, but Dr Goffer hopes it will be cleared for sale by the end of the year.

Dr Goffer says his aim is to enable paralysed people to lead normal lives. As well as giving users the ability to walk, the device also helps them regain their dignity. When someone is in a wheelchair his head is at the height of an average person’s waist. This literal diminution of his stature can reduce his metaphorical stature, too. Once able to stand up, his stature, in both senses of the word, is restored—and that can be just as valuable as the health and mobility benefits.

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By Lori Penner

of The Red River Valley Echo

From his wheelchair, Kevin Brooks shared the story of the night that changed his life forever. His painfully personal, down-to-earth style had W.C. Miller students hanging on his every word for a solid hour. Three empty chairs stood at the front of the gym in memory of the friends he had lost.

Wiggle your toes.

It sounds like a silly command, but for Kevin Brooks, even that simple task is impossible.

His life used to be all about movement, and you couldn’t keep him off a skateboard, snowboard or hockey rink. But all of that abruptly ended on what he calls a typical, booze-fueled Saturday night 11 years ago. Brooks left a party “completely wasted,” driving crazy speeds, with his childhood friend Brendon along for the ride. Weeks later, he woke up in a hospital bed, unable to move or even breath on his own, and learned that a car crash had paralyzed him and taken Brendon’s life.

Because of one bad choice, his life became a nightmare of rehabilitation and regret. “Brendon looked up to me. We played hockey together. He dated my sister. We were planning to go to school together,” Brooks says. “And then, just like that, he was dead.” He kept Brendon’s parents’ phone number beside his hospital bed for weeks, in anguish over what to say to them. But in the end, Brooks says it was their unconditional forgiveness that was his salvation.

“They gave me a chance to go on and lead a good life,” he says.

Today, Brooks doesn’t let his paralysis slow him down. The accident has given him a purpose by sharing his story and the lessons it taught him with audiences across North America. Since the accident, he’s reached over 250,000 people in schools and community events. Brooks was at W.C. Miller on Feb. 17 through a new program launched by Manitoba Public Insurance.

The Friends for Life program has speakers making stops at more than 30 schools across the province, sharing their stories of the physical devastation and emotional trauma they’ve experienced because of drinking and driving. Partnering with the Manitoba School Boards Association and Teens Against Drunk Driving, the ultimate goal of the program is to encourage young drivers to think before they get behind the wheel.

The statistics are as sobering as they hope the message will be. Out of the 100 fatalities on Manitoba roadways every year, about one-third are alcohol related with many involving young drivers. “We’re hoping these personal stories will influence these kids to make better choices,” says MPI road safety issue specialist, Adam Cheadle. “Kevin gets them for an hour, and they’re completely wrapped up in what he’s saying.”

Brooks says while his message does speak to the horrible consequences of impaired driving, there’s another aspect. He addresses other issues like depression, sharing stories about his friends who died at their own hands.

“Teens today are dealing with such adult issues at an age where they don’t have the capacity to deal with them,” he says. “You need to find your way. If you can’t find your smile or your sunshine, talk to someone, anyone, who will listen.”

“I used to think my choices only affected me, but our choices can hurt others more than they hurt us,” he says. “Don’t let my story become yours.”

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Paralyzed bride-to-be, Jennifer Darmon, says she is determined not to let her wheelchair stop her from walking down the aisle on her wedding day in April.

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