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Exoskeleton Rehab Centers: How to Find the Right Facility

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Exoskeleton rehab centers are in the infancy of their mainstream appeal. Because the technology behind them is so new and constantly evolving, it can be difficult to know how to find the right one for your needs. On top of that, you may not even really know how the technology can help you for your specific disability or need. 

Here at Ekso Bionics, we offer a wearable suit, called EksoNR, which was developed exclusively for use in rehabilitation centers and clinical settings. It is the first exoskeleton FDA-cleared to help those who have had an acquired brain injury, stroke or spinal cord injury gain back their mobility sooner, thanks to robotic-assisted guidance that ensures a proper gait. 

EksoNR is designed to progress neurorehab patients so they can walk out of the device and back into their communities. This product ensures the most natural gait, re-teaching the brain and muscles how to walk properly again. It is currently being used under the guidance of trained personnel in more than 270 rehabilitation centers around the world. Check out the link and search your location to find a center near you that offers exoskeleton rehabilitation. 

Exoskeletons: Helping People With Paralysis Walk Again

Wearable robots can help people with paralysis walk again. The use of these devices in rehab is on the rise, with benefits that are getting clearer by the day.

According to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, nearly 1 out of every 50 people in this country live with some form of paralysis, which translates to 5.4 million people. The number of people who could be candidates for exoskeletons is 300,000, a number that continues to grow by 18,000 each year.

Exoskeletons: Clinical Evidence and Application

The field of wearable robotics is booming now, even though this concept has been around for 20 years. However, in the last five to 10 years, there has been a big acceleration of research.

Robotic technology benefits stroke patients in particular. More than 70 percent of people who have a stroke never regain walking capacity. Technologies like Ekso NR are not meant to be worn out of rehab centers; rather they are designed to help train the brain and muscles to allow patients with stroke, spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions to basically retrain their bodies to walk again.

Robotic exoskeletons have been establishing themselves as a technology that gives mobility and independence—both psychological and physical—to millions of hopeful people.

Contact Ekso Bionics

Eager to learn more about the future of exoskeletons or how you can find a rehab center near you that utilizes this technology? Request a demo when you contact us today. Wondering: how do exoskeletons work? Just ask us!

What Does a Zero Gravity Tool Holder Do?

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Working without the weight: this is the premise behind zero gravity tool holders. Workplace injuries are on the rise, with more than $1 billion per week spent by U.S. employers on the most disabling, non-fatal workplace injuries. In fact, the annual cost to U.S. businesses of lost-time workplace injuries is more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 91 countries combined!

Overexertion is the #1 cause of serious or disabling workplace injuries, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total. Construction is the most common industry to report disabling workplace injuries. Indeed, construction workers are 5x more likely to report poor health, with 20 percent  of them reporting severe pain.

With the advent of innovative exoskeleton technologies, workers can now perform heavy hand tool tasks with less fatigue, fewer workplace injuries and better quality workmanship.

For example, our EksoZeroG is a robotic, zero gravity arm able to hold heavy tools atop aerial work platforms, scissor lifts and scaffolding. It’s a spring-loaded robotic arm that is able to transfer the weight of heavy tools to its base, then into the ground. The unit has the ability to be mounted in less than one minute, making large jobs much easier and faster. It can also decrease injury and increase production.

But more than that, it eases the physical burden on construction and demolition workers so they can maneuver tools and other objects as if they are weightless.

Easing the Burden

Zero gravity arms are designed to relieve the pressure and weight load from the worker’s limb, providing physical support through an entire range of motion. Zero gravity tool balancers essentially allow tools to hang in the air wherever they are left by the worker when they remove their hand.

So how exactly does an industrial exoskeleton ease the burden on today’s construction workers and other physical laborers? A zero gravity arm can:

  • Reduce worker fatigue
  • Increase productivity
  • Decrease workplace injury
  • Increase worker retention
  • Decrease employee time off due to injury
  • Maintain an ergonomic work environment
  • Reduce musculoskeletal disorders arising from the use of heavy hand tools
  • Minimize the amount of force needed to activate trigger devices.
  • Easy to use
  • Can prevent tools from being loaded incorrectly
  • Can prevent tangling
  • Compatible with tools weighing up to 42 lbs

Practical Support 

Zero gravity support offers workers an environment where they will encounter a tool exactly where it had been discarded, each and every time. No searching around, no wasted time. With no gravitational force acting on the tool, it will be inert when not being manipulated by a human operator. 

Rather than fruitlessly searching for a tool in a rack system or on a table top, the worker will intuitively know where those tools are. That’s because they will be hanging suspended from the zero gravity tool holder or balancer, exactly where they had been left. Zero gravity systems can eliminate many small tasks, such as when a worker:

  • Sets a tool down on a tabletop
  • Encloses a tool in a protective case, or wraps it with cloth
  • Balances a tool on its side, top or bottom
  • Brings a tool near a surface in a workspace
  • Implements an additional range of motion while the tool is in hand

As you can see, the benefits to zero gravity arms are many. This is the future of work: fewer injuries on the job and higher levels of productivity. 

Contact Ekso Bionics

Here at Ekso Bionics, we’re in the business of making things easier for workers and their employers. Reduce workplace incidents, increase productivity and lower worker fatigue with EksoZeroG, an innovative robotic arm that holds heavy tools on aerial work platforms and scaffolding. Learn more about it when you call us or request a free demo.

What is an Exoskeleton Suit?

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When you think of “exoskeleton,” your mind may jump to images of Iron Man, and really, the imagery isn’t far off at all. But while exoskeletons can provide some level of robotic strength, they don’t provide the users with quite the powers of the popular Marvel hero. 

It’s becoming a booming industry, seemingly overnight, particularly when it comes to exosuits worn within the construction industry. Experts predict the robotic exoskeleton market will hit $1.8 billion by 2025, a rise from $68 million in 2014. Last year, 6,000 suits were sold worldwide, mainly for rehabilitation purposes. But by 2025, estimates show there will be about 2.6 million on the market.

A number of companies are making exoskeleton suits for construction and manufacturing use, and Ekso Bionics is one of them. 

The Basics

Quite simply, an exoskeleton suit is a wearable device that works in tandem with the user. The opposite example would be an autonomous robot that works independently of the user. Designed to enhance, amplify or restore human performance, such a suit is worn on the user’s body. 

Every exoskeleton suits is different. Some are made from rigid materials such as carbon fiber or metal, while others are made from soft and elastic parts. Suits can either be powered and equipped with electronics and sensors, or they can be mechanical and passive. They may cover the entire body, or just the lower or upper extremities, or a specific body part such as the shoulder, hip or ankle.

Exoskeletons involve the application of robotics and bio-mechatronics designed to augment and assist humans in the performance of tasks.

Exoskeleton suits are manufactured by exoskeleton companies like Ekso Bionics.

Multiplying Strength

The metal frameworks of exosuits are fitted with motorized or mechanical muscles to multiply the user’s strength, basically mirroring the wearer’s internal skeletal structure. Exoskeleton suits make objects feel lighter – even weightless sometimes – which reduces injuries and improves compliance in a variety of industries. 

They first came on the scene after being developed for the military, but have since made the shift from military and healthcare into manufacturing.  Construction and agriculture industries are also incorporating exoskeletons where workers are known to carry and transfer very heavy loads while moving in a repetitive manner. 

It was about 2015 when exosuits finally made their way into mainstream industrial applications. This is when Ekso Bionics announced its expansion into the construction industry and related industries with the Ekso Works Industrial Exoskeleton. The suit empowers the user to lift power tools as if they were weightless. 

But Ekso Bionics was around long before that. As pioneers in bionic technology since 2005, Ekso has been at the leading edge of exo technology every step of the way when it comes to creating and improving wearable technology to augment human potential.

Reducing Injury

Exoskeleton suits are designed primarily to combat fatigue in the workplace, at least in industrial applications such as construction. In 2019, the most common cause for workplace injuries was extreme fatigue and overexertion, with 20 percent of construction workers reporting severe pain. In fact, construction workers are 5x more likely to report poor health. 

Exosuits like EVO and EksoZeroG were developed to address these unique challenges. For instance, the next evolution of EksoVest, is a durable, naturally-tracking, and assistive exoskeleton vest. Designed to alleviate the burden of repetitive work, EVO is an endurance-boosting assistive upper body exoskeleton which helps construction and other workers better manage overhead work. It reduces fatigue and shoulder and back muscle strain, as well as reduces work-related injuries to the neck, shoulder, and back. 

Workers who wear these and other suits are at a reduced risk of severe injuries from accidents or overwork.  Construction workers in particular have the most overexertion injuries, with the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders per capita, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The types of injuries they sustain reduce the number of years they can do their jobs and many of them even lead to permanent injury.

From arm support limbs to full body suits, the exoskeleton industry is proving to be extremely beneficial to many industries looking to reduce injury and ensure happier, healthier workers.

Contact Ekso Bionics

To learn more about how exoskeleton suits from Ekso Bionics can benefit you, contact us at 510-984-1761 or request a free demo online. 

EVO Vest Addresses Challenges of the Industrial Worker

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There are many challenges facing the industrial worker, from fatigue to heat exposure to repetitive motion.

To address those concerns, we have created EVO, the result of three years of intense testing, research and market feedback. Making improvements to the design, manufacturing, and ergonomics, EVO was designed to deliver an exceptional user experience for workers of all trades and sizes.

EVO is the next evolution of EksoVest, a durable, naturally-tracking, and assistive exoskeleton vest. EVO is an endurance-boosting assistive upper body exoskeleton designed to alleviate the burden of repetitive work, the next generation of industrial exoskeletons by Ekso Bionics, an industry leader in exoskeleton technology for medical and industrial use.

In a nutshell, EVO is a passive, spring-loaded assistive upper-body exoskeleton which helps workers better manage overhead work. Not only does it reduce fatigue and shoulder and back muscle strain, it also reduces or eliminates work-related injuries to the neck, shoulder, and back. With this vest, you get five to 15 pounds of lift assistance in each arm in order to better elevate and alleviate the daily strain on workers across all industries.

On top of our new product, we have also launched a new website to highlight the benefits of EVO. Ekso believes every injury is preventable. Therefore, our mission is to eliminate worker injuries. The best way to do that is to be well equipped in the workplace with the equipment necessary for optimal safety.

Benefits of EVO Vest: Providing Power Without the Pain

Whether you work in construction, manufacturing or food production, safety in everyday work should be a priority. And yes, we aim to reduce worker injuries, but at the same time, we want to increase productivity and efficiency.

  • Reduces worker fatigue
  • Improves health and endurance
  • Full day of wear without any down time
  • Boosts productivity
  • Elevates worker morale and retention
  • Exoskeleton design is more comfortable and cool to wear than a backpack, particularly in hot environments
  • Lightweight
  • Provides full range of motion while providing proper joint alignment
  • Adjustable, high-force actuators 
  • Requires no additional batteries, charging, or electrical power of any kind
  • Assistive power can be easily activated and asymmetrically controlled by a toggle switch on each shoulder
  • Requires minimal maintenance
  • Enhances workmanship and output
  • Covered under a limited warranty for one year. 
  • Includes flexible acquisition model so businesses can easily adopt EVO for their workers with a high ROI
  • Less bulky than previous versions
  • Effortless extended use, with minimal touch points that keep you cool 
  • Data backed: quality guaranteed and built around field data
Full Range of Motion

Working in a high-heat, high-intensity environment for many hours at a time with repetitive movements can lead to high incidents of worker injury. To combat that, EVO’s patented stacked-link structure will follow the user’s arm through the full range of motion while at the same time ensuring proper joint alignment. Extreme positions become unrestricted, allowing the user to seamlessly reach directly overhead, across their body, or even into their back pocket for their phone.

Full Flexibility

Full flexibility is imperative in this kind of work environment. EVO features shoulder support structures that allow for full flexibility of the user’s torso and waist, especially when they have to twist and bend. The result is a completely natural experience, whereby the user’s back is totally free of structure. This allows for unrestricted airflow and leaves plenty of room for a fall harness. 

Best part of EVO is that it’s designed to contact the user’s body only where absolutely essential while remaining firmly in place throughout use. What the user gets is a more comfortable and cool experience, especially in hot environments.

Full Day of Wear

With no need for batteries, charging, or electrical power, EVO gives you a full day of wear without any down time. Thanks to its assistive power capabilities, it can be easily activated and asymmetrically controlled via a toggle switch in place on each shoulder. This allows you to take the vest on and off without additional help. In fact, most workers can put their EVO on in less than one minute. As you can see, there are several benefits to the EVO vest as it works to reduce fatigue and muscle and joint pain.

Contact Ekso Bionics

To learn more about how EVO can benefit your workers in your particular industry, contact us at 510-984-1761 or request a free demo online. 

Young Mother Finds Her ‘New Normal’ After Stroke

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As a mother of three active boys and working three jobs, it’s no secret that Amelia Clark, at 38, is a hard worker.

With no time left in her day to be ill, it was an unwelcome surprise when she started to feel sick at her local salon. Developing a sudden headache, she was soon unable to stand or walk. Emergency services were called, as Amelia remained baffled as to what was happening to her.

After she arrived at the emergency room, Amelia learned she had suffered a right-sided stroke. The process of stabilization began right away, preparing her for a move to rehabilitation a week later. Amelia chose to go to MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital because it had earned The Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care Certification in Stroke Rehabilitation.

Upon admission for rehabilitation, Amelia’s MidAmerica team and staff members welcomed her with warmth and care. As she moved forward on her new journey, Amelia’s therapists went to extra lengths to make sure she felt safe and comfortable. For extra motivation, she leaned on support from her mother, children, church family and friends. She remained positive and smiled, inspiring other patients to do the same. She even created a rap song about her experiences and MidAmerica to help her and others feel empowered on the road to recovery.

Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurses took the time to explain the changes she was experiencing after her stroke and assured her she was in the best place for recovery.

As part of a comprehensive rehabilitation program, therapists used advanced technologies like Biodex FreeStep and Bioness to elevate her progress. They also used the cutting-edge Ekso to promote early mobilization.

“The technology at MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital was amazing,” Amelia said.

After 38 days of her commitment to a positive outcome, Amelia was discharged home, walking on her own with a hemi walker. She can now drive and is active in educating others on her story. Amelia has started a stroke support group called SSS, which means stroke surviving sisters.

“Now, in outpatient, my therapists are kind and patient, but also challenge me. MidAmerica Rehabilitation Hospital is now my family.”

Amelia is the newest Ambassador for Ekso Bionics, using both EksoNR and EksoUE in her stroke recovery. Learn more about Amelia’s story in this video. 

To learn more about EksoNR, request a demo today.

From Wheelchair-Bound, to Golfing Again

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My story began in December 2015, when I had a stroke in my spinal cord, caused by a ruptured AVM. I had a resectioning of my spinal cord preformed in February 2016. I have a T-12  incomplete spinal cord injury. Post-injury, I used a wheelchair, then went to a wheeled walker, then to a straight cane and AFO braces.  Doctors were thrilled with this progress, since my original prognosis was a wheelchair. But, I was really just dragging my legs with me where I went. I would plant with the cane and drag my leg, using my hips and quads. This was not the best solution in my mind.

I was introduced to Ekso in the fall of 2017 (two years post-injury), when I went to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab website to look for rehabilitation help. I saw the WISE study criteria and signed up immediately. Luckily, I started the trial in quarter one of 2018. I would end up using Ekso three days per week for twelve weeks.

Session #1 — I found my balance, with the help of the pre-gait functions, and my posture recovered.

Session #3 — I became very comfortable and confident in the device. I learned, by then, what we were doing together: Ekso was not walking for me. I stopped fighting it and really started to learn from it. It was here that I realized I need to take the information learned and carry it over into real life. This is also when I realized the importance of Ekso and the steps. I was taking 500+ steps in my first few sessions of 45 minutes each. That was more steps than I was taking in days on my own. Not only was I thrilled by the step quantity, but more by the quality. The step pattern in Ekso is natural and would not allow we to drag my toes.  I can only take quality steps in the device.

Session #5 — We realized I had not used my calves in 2 years. I started pushing with my calves again to clear the toes that were curled under from foot drop. When I am walking, I still hear my PT telling me to push.

Session #12 — I  stopped using my AFO because I was engaging my calves with every step. At this time, I was taking 900+ steps in Ekso, including backward and forward walking.

Session #20 — I was walking in the community unassisted — no more cane!

Session #36 — I was golfing again! This brought my social life back, which I had been desperately missing over the past two years. Ekso brought me back to life!

“I want to stress how much I believe in Ekso: I would drive 2 hours round trip for 12 weeks to get into the device to keep learning to walk.”

Today, I still can’t feel my legs from the waist down, but  I have carried on with all the lessons from my Ekso training and I have been walking unassisted for over two years! I have returned to use Ekso in the outpatient setting, for what I call “tune-ups.” I tend to get busy when life is moving quickly and I return to my old habits—short steps, not weight-shifting, and dragging my toes. Every time I use Ekso, I learn something new and take it with me. I do have to think of every step I am going to take, but now it is so much easier.

Megan is an Ekso Bionics Patient Ambassador. She joined Team Ekso in 2019, when in recovery for her stroke.

To learn more about EksoNR, request a demo today.

After a Serious Fall, College Student is Back on Her Feet: Sasha’s Story

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On a day that started like any other, 20-year-old Sasha Pavlenko went to an early morning class to give a presentation. She had just transferred to the University of Dayton two months prior and was excited to spend time after class with her childhood friend, Cortni, who was in town visiting her.

It was St. Patrickʼs Day, and students started their celebrations early. That afternoon, Sasha and Cortni went to a house party and were talking with a group of friends on a second-floor balcony. Suddenly, a party guest ran into Sasha, causing her to fall 25 feet to the ground below. She was knocked unconscious.

Cortni sprang into action to call Sashaʼs parents and to be by her friendʼs side. Sasha recalls waking up below the balcony. “I tried to stand up, but paramedics told me to be still.”

An hour later at the hospital, the pain struck and after many tests, it was determined that Sasha suffered a burst fracture in her spine and was diagnosed with an L1 incomplete spinal cord injury. She needed an 11-hour surgery the next morning.

“The doctors explained to me that my spinal cord didnʼt break in half — it was still intact but a very exaggerated S-shape. I also had a very large bruise and swelling where my spinal cord ends and meets the peripheral nerves,” recalls Sasha. “Bone fragments were all over the tissue in my back since it was a burst fracture — thatʼs why it took so long, they had to get all of the bone fragments out and then they straightened my spine and put two rods in. They did the best that they could.”

Sasha spent the first few days after surgery in the intensive care unit in a blur of pain and medication. It was after moving to the trauma unit that she had her first glimmer of hope. While still on bed rest, Sasha lifted her left foot, the first movement she made since her fall. Her surgeon was shocked — he wasn’t expecting that so soon.

Two weeks after surgery, Sasha was transferred into the hospitalʼs inpatient rehabilitation unit. The first thing her care team did was get her out of bed to stand – but she couldn’t do it on her own without the help of people holding her. Sasha then started using Ekso almost daily. “Thatʼs when I began gaining more mobility and was able to stand longer,” Sasha explains. “Especially when my accident first happened — I loved getting up to walk.”

After a month, it was time to head home and start outpatient rehab to work towards her goals of getting stronger and walking independently again. During this time she used a walker in her house, a wheelchair in the community, and she continued using Ekso in physical therapy. Sasha noticed how the SmartAssist feature helped to train her weaker leg. “My PT would remove power from my left leg, my stronger side, so it wasnʼt helping me and then I would just work on my right leg.”

“My favorite feature on Ekso is where it shows you how much work you’re actually doing compared to the machine… “We’re always looking at how we can make their lives easier.” …I wasn’t just able to feel that I was getting better, I had actual proof.”

Throughout the four months that she used Ekso she was able to chart her progress, not only by the improvements she felt but in numbers, too.

“My favorite feature on Ekso is where it shows you how much work youʼre actually doing compared to the machine. At the beginning, it was helping me 95% and by the end it was 0% or close to 0%,” Sasha explains. “Iʼm a very numbers oriented person — I love having numbers to show my progress whenever I get reevaluated; thatʼs how I like to judge it. Having that on Ekso, I wasnʼt just able to feel that I was getting better, I had actual proof.”

Today, just over a year after her injury, Sasha can walk. She still wears a brace on her foot but her balance has improved. She walks unassisted at home and uses a walking stick to help her get around outside.

Her message to others who suffer from a spinal cord injury: “Regardless of how you recover, the injury does get easier. I donʼt want people to get too sad in the beginning. The last thing Iʼd want is for someone to fall into depression. Itʼs hard but look at all the good you have and try to appreciate that.”

“There is so much technology and if you work at it, things do happen. Try to achieve your goals. Maybe you wonʼt walk again on your own — each injury is different, but you may make gains in other areas. Keep trying and donʼt lose hope.”

Sasha has returned to college part-time, with plans to increase her course load this fall. Her rehab journey continues with five days of treatment per week, helping her toward her goals of improving her balance and speed and getting rid of the walking stick completely.

To learn more about EksoNR, request a demo today.

EksoNR for ABI: A Game-Changer for Neurorehab

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FDA Approval and Ekso Bionics

U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave us clearance to market our robotic exoskeleton, EksoNR, for use with patients with acquired brain injury (ABI).

As EksoNR is the first exoskeleton device to receive FDA clearance for rehabilitation use with ABI, this significantly expands the device’s indication to a broader group of patients.

EksoNR for NeuroRehab

EksoNR is the next generation device of the most clinically-used robotic exoskeleton, EksoGT, and was previously cleared by the FDA for stroke and spinal cord injury rehabilitation in 2016. The device was the first of its kind to receive a stroke indication and is now also the first to receive an ABI indication.

What is ABI?

ABI, acquired brain injury, is the broadest category of brain injury and is comprised of both traumatic (TBI) and non-traumatic (n-TBI) causes. TBI includes severe head injuries and concussions, while n-TBI includes a broader subset of conditions, such as stroke, aneurysms, brain tumors, anoxia, degenerative and metabolic conditions, infections, and surgical injuries, among others. The combined annual incidence of TBI and stroke alone represent an estimated patient population of 3.7 million in the U.S. and 84 million globally.

What does this new indication mean?

ABI clearance is a huge step towards our goal of elevating patient care and helping people regain mobility.

“With the expanded indications to include the broad category of acquired brain injuries, EksoNR has the potential to mobilize significantly more patients and improve patient recovery. Based on their experience with EksoNR, customers at leading rehabilitation centers have acknowledged the benefits our technology can offer during recovery from brain injuries.”

— Jack Peurach, CEO & President of Ekso Bionics

As Ekso Bionics CEO & President stated, “At Ekso Bionics, we are committed to maximizing patient access to our technology. With the expanded indications to include the broad category of acquired brain injuries, EksoNR has the potential to mobilize significantly more patients and improve patient recovery. Based on their experience with EksoNR, customers at leading rehabilitation centers have acknowledged the benefits our technology can offer during recovery from brain injuries. We are excited to see the device used more widely in neurorehabilitation.”

In addition to EksoNR’s FDA clearance for stroke, spinal cord injury, and acquired brain injury rehabilitation, the device is also CE-marked and available in Europe. Utilized by over 270 rehabilitation centers around the world, Ekso device has helped patients take more than 120 million steps, while supporting patients’ hopes of early mobility and independence.

To learn more about EksoNR, request a demo today.

From Clinical PT, to Global Director of Clinical Experience

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I’ve been often asked what it was like to transition from being a clinical PT to working for Ekso. Here is an article I wrote in 2013 to share my experience:

Last summer, I was sitting in my hospital’s charting room with beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay and glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge. Life of a PT spends much time documenting in a familiar environment. One of my unit’s case managers came up to me and stated “I intercepted this fairly vague phone call.  The caller was looking to speak with the PT supervisor.” She continued on, saying “I tried to receive the call and answer appropriately, but she was very insistent in speaking with you. Would you mind calling her back, if it’s not too inconvenient? Unfortunately, all I have is a name and number.” Without hesitation, I took the limited information and after a brief call, I was introduced to Ekso Bionics.

After 10 years of clinical work, I found myself frustrated with watching a clock and counting minutes to assure I was fulfilling Medicare’s expectations of time spent with patients and units of productive service expected by my clinic. Although I wasn’t actively seeking a change in employment, I found myself excited with the opportunity Ekso Bionics offered. A series of phone calls and conveniently local headquarters offered the opportunity for me to interview and visit with the company on two separate occasions. On the second visit, I asked Ekso’s Clinical Director if an able-bodied person can walk in Ekso and about 10 minutes later I was wearing and walking in Ekso. I was sold and really wanted the position.

With much excitement, I was offered the position of Clinical Training Specialist. With appropriate diligence to wrap up my former position and assist with appropriate transitions, it took a couple months to close one chapter of my PT career to open the next. The clinic was everything I knew and one where I could anticipate what curveballs would head my way. The challenges of patient or family members, therapy or nursing team dynamics, staffing ratios and productivity were quickly swept away. I was moving into a world extremely foreign to the clinical-based physical therapist. A biotech start-up company is entirely different. I was now trying to understand fairly new and evolving technology. I think of myself as a math and science person, but I’m not very tech-savvy. Although I feel confident in my knowledge of the body, biomechanics and neuromuscular function, I stepped into a world of technology and discovered how a robot can interface with the highly sophisticated system that is the human body. The learning curve was eased with training from my colleagues, who spent appropriate time to explain and offer opportunities for learning.

This new and dynamic experience is ever-changing and exciting. I see the Clinical Training Specialist with a three-dimension role: we are first and foremost physical therapists working with patients and analyzing gait, but we also act as clinical educators/instructors and tap into a sales and marketing component.

Throughout each week we have test pilots come to headquarters. These appointments help on multiple levels. It offers the clinical staff opportunity to gain exposure to learning styles and teaching opportunities while still maintaining a clinical opportunity of patient and family interaction. The test pilots have the opportunity to use the product, ambulate and gain benefits of walking in Ekso. The product development team gains opportunities to test and trial new hardware, soft goods and software changes. It’s a win-win situation for all parties involved.

The Ekso Clinical Training Specialist is also responsible to assist with sales demonstrations. It is a rare opportunity for PTs to travel for work. Outside a home healthcare scenario, it is the clinical model in the US healthcare system for patients to travel to the clinic due to equipment and logistical constraints. I have been offered the opportunity to travel across the country to demonstrate and expose people and clinicians to Ekso. It is a priceless experience to watch people witness our ambassadors and test pilots walking in Ekso.

The ultimate goal of many of these demonstrations is to place Ekso in the rehabilitation clinics. When these sales are complete, the clinical PTs have the opportunity to train up to four of the clinical site’s PTs on how to safely use Ekso.  As a clinical instructor, it is such a pleasure to have the opportunity to get back into teaching.

This career change was certainly unexpected and an opportunity that is unmatched. Every day I work side-by-side with some of the world’s most innovative engineers, top-notch executives, brilliant marketing and customer relations representatives and an elite group of clinicians. I find myself very fortunate to have this opportunity and excited for the many lives we will touch in the future.

Since writing this in 2013, a lot has happened — we have launched numerous new products, trained countless rehabilitation centers, gained new FDA-clearances, and I am now the Global Director of Clinical Experience.

Working with Ekso has been an experience like no other.

If you’re interested in joining Team Ekso, visit our Careers page to see what openings are available.

Experience Power Without Pain

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Experience Power Without Pain

As a company, we strongly value customer feedback, applying it directly to our product development. We sat down to interview retired construction worker, Tatiana Aguirre, to hear about her experience with EksoZeroG.

What is your construction background?

“I’ve done a variety of things, electrical, dry wall, framework, laying water lines, masonry, landscaping and just about every corner of construction.”

How is the learning curve?

“Set up is easy, you can focus on your safety and work, something that has always been hard to balance in the construction industry. Once you get it adjusted for the range of motion and the weight of the tool, it isn’t anything, it isn’t even work anymore. Not having to fight the weight of the tool was unreal. It’s something I haven’t experienced before, I didn’t think it was possible. It was so much easier, like gliding. In the construction world it’s probably like flying for the first time, like Wonder Woman.”

What was it like using EksoZeroG?

“When drilling without EksoZeroG I felt like there was a lot of pain that I had in my back, it started getting hard to breathe, I knew I was hot. When I started using EksoZeroG, I forgot it was even hot outside (115 F). The pain immediately alleviated, and it was just so easy to use. The only thing I would have to get used to is defying gravity!”

Were you able to work longer with the EksoZeroG?

“Yes, I felt like I could go a lot longer with it. There was no pressure on my back. The only motion I really had to do was drilling the hole going forward, it got the work done faster and I was able to concentrate where I was aiming next.”

Are you in construction anymore?

“Construction is in my blood. My whole family has always been in construction but a lot of them don’t do it anymore because of the strain it puts on your body. I got out at a really young age because it was something I didn’t want to put my body through anymore. I think about how hard my brother and my dad, who are still in the construction industry, work and it’s killing their bodies. My brother’s body has probably aged more than mine has and he’s only 19.”

What could this product mean to your family?

“The slogan ‘power without pain’ is completely accurate. This would really help my family a lot. Just imagining how this product could ease the physical labor of their job is unbelievable. I have a lot of family and friends in the construction industry. It’s like by the time they’re 45, they’ve already completely lived their lives. They’re already so fatigued and weighted, that it’s sad and now there is a product like that this that can change so much of that.”

Check out Tatiana trying out EksoZeroG in the video below.

To learn more about EksoZeroG, request a demo today.