A British woman paralysed from the chest down by a horse riding accident has become the first person to take home a robotic exoskeleton that enables her to walk.

To be stood up in this means everything to me

Although bionic exoskeletons have been used in hospitals and rehabilitation centres, Claire Lomas is the first to take the ReWalk suit home for everyday use.

Lomas earlier this year used the suit to complete the London Marathon in 17 days, raising about £200,000 (€253,310) for research into spinal damage and she was recently given the job of lighting the Paralympic cauldron in Trafalgar Square.

But she said more routine activities are equally gratifying.

“One of the best experiences was standing at a bar,” she said. “To be stood up in this means everything to me.”

Larry Jasinski, chief executive of Argo Medical Technologies, the company that developed the suit, said he was initially nervous about backing the marathon bid because the suit was still being tested but Lomas said it held up well.

The exoskeleton is activated by the wearer tilting their balance to indicate the desire to take a step. It supports the body’s weight and also allows the person to go up or down stairs, as well as sit or stand up independently.

It costs €56,956 and although clinical studies are ongoing that could back a case for health authorities to fund purchases of the device, the developers argue that savings on the treatment of ailments related to inactivity could offset the cost.

Paralysed people are prone to pressure sores and a loss of bone density as well as problems linked to poor posture. Jasinski said estimates on the cost of treating these range from €398,900 to €2.3 million over a patient’s life.

The company estimates that of the six million wheelchair users in the US and Europe, around 250,000 could be suitable for using the ReWalk device.

A report in 2010 by US firm ABI Research forecast the market for this technology could be worth €255 million within 10 years. Meanwhile, the US and Israeli military have shown an interest for use by injured soldiers.

Research into exoskeletons goes back 50 years but advances in software management systems and sensors have only recently made them practical.

Argo, which is backed by two Israeli venture capitalists, is working on a similar device for quadriplegics, as well as a brain interface that could allow more intuitive “thought control” of the exoskeleton.

Although this is still years away, scientists have recently unveiled devices that can be controlled in real time by thought using advanced brain scanning.

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