Oct 30 2014
Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc., a robotic exoskeleton company, announced today that it has been awarded a P20 Exploratory Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue the development of an exoskeleton prototype for children.
This work will be done in collaboration with the pediatric rehabilitation department at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland and will consist of Ekso Bionics developing a pediatric version of its Ekso GT™ robotic exoskeleton. Working with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland allows for the effective integration of advanced robotics into a world-class pediatric rehabilitative practice.
Ekso Bionics is collaborating with Christine Aguilar, MD, Medical Director, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and Robert Haining, MD, Associate Director, Rehabilitation Medicine of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland on suit design and function to be used for children with neurologic disorders that result in gait deficiencies such as spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy. The suit will be developed for children aged five (approximately 42 inches tall and 40 pounds) to about eight years old(approximately 50 inches tall and 56 pounds). Doctors Aguilar and Haining are also providing input on potential clinical testing and implementation of the suits. Following the development of an effective pediatric prototype, Ekso and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland will discuss a sequential Phase II Grant.
"Our department is very excited to be collaborating with Ekso Bionics," said Dr. Aguilar. "We believe the new prototype of exoskeleton will give children who have difficulty moving their legs the ability to walk."
"This NIH grant and partnership with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland gives us the real opportunity to intervene early in a child's life and potentially help them improve their walking skills and overall quality of life," stated Katie Strausser, PhD and Director of Research at Ekso Bionics.
About UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland (formerly Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland) is a premier, not-for-profit medical center for children in Northern California, and is the only hospital in the East Bay 100% devoted to pediatrics. UCSF Benioff Oakland affiliated with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco on January 1, 2014. UCSF Benioff Oakland is a national leader in many pediatric specialties including hematology/oncology, neonatology, cardiology, pulmonology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and neurosurgery. The hospital is one of only five ACS Pediatric Level I Trauma Centers in the state, and has one of largest pediatric intensive care units in Northern California. UCSF Benioff Oakland has 190 licensed beds, over 500 physicians in 43 specialties, more than 2,600 employees, and a consolidated annual operating budget of more than $500 million. UCSF Benioff Oakland is also a leading teaching hospital with an outstanding pediatric residency program and a number of unique pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs.
UCSF Benioff Oakland's research arm, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), is internationally known for its basic and clinical research. CHORI is at the forefront of translating research into interventions for treating and preventing human diseases. CHORI has 250 members of its investigative staff, a budget of about $50 million, and is ranked among the nation's top ten research centers for National Institutes of Health funding to children's hospitals. For more information, go to www.childrenshospitaloakland.org and www.chori.org.
About Ekso Bionics
Since 2005, Ekso Bionics has been pioneering the field of robotic exoskeletons, or wearable robots, to augment human strength, endurance and mobility. The company's first commercially available product called Ekso has helped thousands of people living with paralysis take millions of steps not otherwise possible. By designing and creating some of the most forward-thinking and innovative solutions for people looking to augment human capabilities, Ekso Bionics is helping people rethink current physical limitations and achieve the remarkable.