“ There was a clear opportunity to innovate in this field ”
ALFONS CARNICERO CO-FOUNDER AND CEO ,
ABLE HUMAN MOTION
“ Although we have not invented the exoskeleton , what we saw when we started the project is that there were a few out there being used , but there were three main problems . The first was the weight . Current devices weigh around 30kg . Imagine if you need to move such a device from one site of a clinic , for example , to another . It also makes it difficult to manoeuvre .
“ Secondly is the time to set up . Rehabilitation sessions are usually 45 minutes to an hour , so you need to make the most of that time standing and walking . Most devices out there on the market take more than 15 to 18 minutes to set up to put on a patient , some even take half an hour . So imagine if you take half the session just putting the device on your body .
“ Finally , and also very important , is the accessibility with the price . Current devices , all of them are above € 100,000 ( US $ 105,000 ), and the gold standard costs around € 150,000 ( US $ 158,000 ). This makes them only a real possibility for large clinics or other private clinics . The result is that most patients are not able to benefit from this therapy in their daily life .”
With this in mind , ABLE designed their version of the exoskeleton . Following seven prototypes , their current device weighs just 17kg , half the weight of its competitors .
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