'The first time I walked, I just cried': Paraplegic woman describes moment robotic skeleton gave her the gift of movement

By LUCY BUCKLAND



Leaving the wheelchair behind: Amanda Boxtel said using Ekso was a 'life-changing' experience



A robotic skeleton has allowed a paraplegic woman to walk again in what she describes as a 'life changing' experience.

Amanda Boxtel has described the first moments after she tried on the Ekso device, named because it resembles a exoskeleton, at the first showcasing of the new technology in Europe yesterday.



Unveiled: Engineer Thomas Dwyer stands with the new Bionic Exoskeleton next to Amanda Boxtel, who hadn't walked since a skiing accident in 1992



The 43-year-old, who was paralysed from the waist down in a 1992 skiing accident, told the Telegraph using the robotic skeleton was 'life changing'.



'Life-changing': The device developed by Ekso Bionics is a wearable, battery-powered, robotic exoskeleton



She told the paper: 'The first time I walked in them I went back to my hotel room and cried hard.

'To walk with my knees bent, heels striking the ground again is just amazing. At a cocktail party rather than looking up at nostrils and chins, I 'd be able to stand eye to eye.'

The skeleton works by helping the wearer walk by picking up tiny body movements and then translates them into strides while motors in the device's hip and knee joints drive the frame forward.



One step at a time: Amanda Boxtel appeared on Daybreak showing how the robotic skeleton works



At the showcasing of the technology at the London International Technology Show Mr Bent said Esko would be available in Britain next year, first to rehabilitation centres and then to individuals at £100,000 a pair.



source: dailymail