No this isn’t powered exo-armor a la Iron Man, it’s more of a flexible support frame to help the disabled stand and walk again. I found the article today after my fiance and I were discussing a guest speaker she recently interviewed, and it piqued my interest. My comments are in bold italics and the article can be found here.
There is new hope for people who have been paralyzed with the invention of a so-called orthopedic “armor”, which is defying doctors’ prognoses by allowing patients to both stand and walk.
I hardly think that this is a fair statement. Doctor’s prognoses in these situations is that the people will never walk again under their own power or without assistance. Kinda sensationalistic if you ask me.
This piece of sculpture is designed to fit its customer perfectly. Made of a plastic-like material and placed around a steel skeleton, the simple device is called “armor for the disabled”.
I’m glad they put “armor” in quotes as it wouldn’t really protect much.
Just one small step contradicts everything the doctors have been telling Aleksey Filatov ever since he was paralyzed in a car accident.
It’s not really contradicting, as the doctors in question probably never said “You’ll never walk again, even with help from an exo-frame of some kind.”
He still can’t feel his feet, but with his armor he can walk on them.
“Unlike similar devices this device is very light and it doesn’t take a lot of time to put it on. It helps to get into the car and use the wheelchair much less. It can also be worn under trousers,” Aleksey says.
The fact that it’s lightweight is amazing, as is the fact that it’s portable enough to be worn under your pants.
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The invention is the brainchild of another disabled man, also called Aleksey. Eight years of being confined to bed left him determined to prove the doctors wrong.
“The armor is not going to help you jump or play football. But they can allow you to do some things which were previously inaccessible. To allow people to stand up is very important. It helps to solve the psychological problems of the disabled,” says Aleksey Nalogin, inventor of the armor for the disabled.
Now THIS I vastly agree with. Innumerable studies have shown how bolstering the psychological condition helps ALL kinds of patients, especially paralyzed ones. The hope and drive to keep going and function properly truly does make the healing process work. I’ve seen too many paralyzed people fight their way back into functioning after their doctors told them they’d never be able to speak again, let alone move, to believe otherwise.
Now his armor is available to anyone who needs it. Aleksey’s invention is already helping children, and the doctors say the armor has shown impressive results.
The fact that this is widely available is most amazing. The act of pantomiming proper movement encourages the growth and function of nerve cells, and this can only help more.
“The beauty of Aleksey’s invention is that each piece of armor is handmade to fit the patient perfectly. After production the armor is adjusted on the patient several times to guarantee the best medical effect. That’s something similar devices made on the production line cannot do,” says sports doctor Dmitry Kiselev.
What sucks about this is that mass production is what allows things to be done cheaply. Every piece having to be custom made is going to drive the prices up and the availability down. Some engineers should tackle this and figure out a way to cheaply and easily make the frame more customizable so that it can be just as useful if mass produced.
Aleksey says being disabled in Russia is difficult. Public transport and streets are not fully equipped for those who are physically impaired, but the inventor says this armor is a step towards making Russia disabled-friendly.
Not just Russia my friends, the whole world. My Grandpa was a paraplegic and I can only imagine how this device would have helped him. Now let’s see this idea grow and spread, not get shelved like so many others.
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