ExoAtlet: steps towards health
Originally the project aimed at robotic skeletons that would help emergency response teams to save people from ruined buildings and while rescue operations. Then developers decided that their devices can serve rehabilitation purposes. The technology can assist patients suffering from movement disorders caused by spinal, brain or spinal cord injuries.
In 2014 ExoAtlet received a grant from StartupVillage and became a resident of Skolkovo. Then after providing all required experiments and tests the company was officially permitted to sell robotic skeletons to Russian rehabilitation clinics. It costs 3.5 million rubles for state medical centers and 1.5 million rub for private citizens.
Exoskeletons give wheelchair users to stand on their own legs, walk, go upstairs and step over a threshold. Standing position is essential for humans, it improves internal organs’ functions and helps patients to be rehabilitated. Patients can manage the skeleton using muscle sensors.
ITMO U: from idea to real project
Nikita Lipovich, student at Chair of Light-Guided Photonics, works on a smart knee orthosis. His graduation project was devoted to programmable controller development. He presented his prototype at “People need you” competition and then became a participant of business accelerator Future Technologies.
The orthosis is attached on a knee joint so as to bend and unbend it. These movements positively affect rehabilitation process after severe injuries. The device detects phases of step movements and knee flexion angles thanks to a footstep motion sensor and mems-chips such as accelerometer, gyroscope and magnet tester.
“If one asked me just one year ago about equal devices I would say that it has no equals. However engineers at Kyoto University have already invented a prototype of orthosis and even passed medical certification. They use pneumatic muscles that make the device much more expensive and heavier…However unlike Japanese colleagues we used mechanical-based solution and cheap step motor drives,” noted Mr. Lipovich.
The engineer also mentioned that the most important idea of this device is that everybody could afford that. That is why while developing he used cheap and simple elements. A smart knee orthosis will cost approximately 140,000 rubles.
Expert Opinion
Well-organized team and effective management are integral parts of a successful startup, supposes Yuri Baulin, professor at Department of Natural Sciences. He is sure that ExoAtlet succeeded in promotion their device because of high-grade experts in various fields who joined the engineering team.
“To share results of research activity scientists have to collaborate with a professional manager. It gives researchers an opportunity to spend time for work they are really good at and don’t deal with paperwork and other issues that are not connected with science. It is obviously that ExoAtlet provides all required activities such as promotion, good managing system and research.”
