The Lucy Montoro Network, linked to the Unified Health System (SUS) and managed by the São Paulo Health Department, acquired two exoskeletons to help in the rehabilitation of patients with severe motor disabilities, allowing them to stand, walk, crouch and even climb steps. To the two units cost around US$ 200,000, around R$ 1 million.
The equipment from the French company Wandercraft was tested last month by Senator Mara Gabrilli, who has been quadriplegic since 1994, in the USA. The São Paulo government signed a partnership to encourage scientific and technological research with robotic exoskeletons.
I’m not the same person after testing this equipment! In the last three days I was on a mission in the USA, where I tested the Atalante, an exoskeleton that works as a support so that people with paralysis can stand up, move multidirectionally and have free arms. pic.twitter.com/1QzrtNKcVa
— Mara Gabrilli (@maragabrilli) April 27, 2023
The machines should be available from July to assist patients with paraplegia or in the process of rehabilitation after a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) in the public network. The devices dubbed Atalante can be used by people weighing up to 90 kg and help maintain balance, giving users safety, and use the body’s own strength to account for the movements.
“The firmware and software algorithms are an intelligent technology that creates a correct kinematic or physiological gait for patients based on their measurements”, says Gary Viles, vice president of commercial operations for Wandercraft in the Americas, to the UOL Tilt portal.
The records are in an app where it is possible to check the number of steps, the times they squatted, time of use and even which leg needed more assistance. Not yet available on a large scale, the goal is that patients may one day have such an exoskeleton at home to help with daily tasks.
