Robot exoskeleton gets patients back on their feet
This story was originally published by WOOD TV 8.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It might sound futuristic, but right now, a robotic suit is helping Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital patients who are paralyzed.
Brittany Yeomans was only 21 years old in May 2013 when her life changed forever in a motorcycle crash.
“I was a passenger on a Harley and a car pulled out in front of me and the guy that was riding. His name was Chris,” Yeomans said.
Chris didn’t survive the crash. The spinal cord injury Yeomans sustained left her paralyzed.
“When the doctor told me I was paralyzed and that I wasn’t going to walk again, I was just kind of like, ‘OK, I’ll show you,’” Yeomans said.
Now, the Indego exoskeleton is allowing Yeomans to be back on her feet.
“It’s basically a robotic suit that helps people move their limbs whether they have muscle function in the legs or not,” physical therapist Jessica Larson, who’s part of the spinal cord injury program at Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital in Grand Rapids, explained Indego.
