The robotic technology that produced Xobotix may soon provide hope for people who need assistance walking, and may even allow mobility for people who have lost the use of their legs.
Xobotix (pronounced exo-botics), one of the 2011 Cade Prize Final Four, is the culmination of nearly 20 years of robotics and human/machine integration research. Co-founder Johnny Godowski has been making robots in his garage for more than 20 years and adapted some of the technology used to make robots walk to make an orthotic – a small lower-extremity exoskeleton to help paralyzed patients walk again.
Dr. Maulik Shah, MD, Xobotix’s CEO and medical officer, believes that, although the technology will ultimately allow paralyzed patients to walk again, it will provide significant improvement in post-surgery and –injury rehabilitation.
Currently, most orthotics – like knee or ankle braces – provide only stability, not support. Since these are essentially casts, they can hamper someone’s ability to heal their joints after a knee surgery like a total knee replacement or an ACL/MCL repair.
Godowski’s work in robotic mobility at the Institute of Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola showed that most of the energy required for walking is generated by the upper body. The Xobotix exoskeleton uses energy created by twisting the upper body to help move the lower extremities and allow a patient to walk. Since the system provides the support that joints are normally responsible for, the exoskeleton essentially replaces the joints and muscles that would normally support and move a patient.
The exoskeleton includes an ankle and knee clutch system, allowing the leg to bend appropriately and normally. As soon as a patient puts weight down, the clutch locks to support the patient before another step, allowing patients to stand up and rest using only the support of the exoskeleton.
With the prototype, Shah said a patient who had been paralyzed by a spinal cord injury walked nearly 30 feet before he had to rest.
Although the company plans to create three products, the first will be the rehabilitative aid to provide mobility assistance for lower extremity injuries. This could also help patients with strokes, multiple sclerosis or other neurodegenerative conditions.
Shah calls the product a mechanically intelligent exoskeleton. It has no electronics, just mechanical joints designed to mimic a normal knee and ankle joints.
“Since we wanted it light weight and wearable, we stayed away from electronics,” Shah said. “Even the locking-clutch is due to ingenious mechanical design. Other products have big motors, so you look like a big machine from Avatar. Ours is lightweight and can be worn under pants, so it’s a unique technology that will allow people to start walking again.”
The second product will be more bulky and fully adjustable. Shah hopes it will be used by physical and occupational therapists to replace treadmill therapy. The third will be the more robust exoskeleton to actually help people who are paralyzed walk again.
The company is currently on its second generation of prototypes. Shah hopes the Cade Prize will help Xobotix take the next step and find an industrial design partner to refine its research prototype into a commercial product. Shah said the Cade process of judging and vetting has already helped move the company “out of the garage,” and hopes Xobotix will one day help people to walk.
“We’re ecstatic about the Cade Prize,” Shah said. “I think our company holds to the mission of Robert Cade. He developed Gatorade to help athletes who suffered from dehydration, and we feel we are in the same entrepreneurial spirit. We’ll help athletes and other people who suffer from mobility issues.”
The winner of the second annual Cade Prize for Innovation will be announced at Cade Prize Night on Thursday, May 12 at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall. Buy your tickets here.
