People in the United States with spinal cord injuries now have access to a device to help them stand and walk. The FDA has approved the sale and marketing of Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin’s robotic exoskeleton.
Head of Parker Hannifin’s human motion and control unit, AchilleasDorotheou, says the exoskeleton has been in development and testing since 2010. With FDA approval he says the devices can now be sold to nine rehabilitation clinics that pre-ordered them and to a handful of wealthy individuals who had also lined up to pay $80,000 apiece.
Dorotheou says the company is working with health insurers to convince them to cover the costs for personal use.
“We will need to do more clinical trials and prove that, with these devices,the health costs of people with paraplegia and other such impairments will go down over time so that it makes sense for an insurance company to cover these devices for individuals.”
Parker Hannifin has been selling and marketing the exoskeletons to rehab clinics in Europe since last fall.
