Revolutionary robotic suit helping woman walk after suffering spinal cord injury
Posted November 12, 2024 5:14 pm.
Last Updated November 12, 2024 7:36 pm.
Xomotion is a robotic suit that changed the life of Chloe Angus, a Vancouver-based fashion designer who was told she was no longer able to move and walk after a spinal injury in 2015.
“All of a sudden my world was limited and the secondary health complications that I was facing by living seated in a wheelchair are devastating. I wanted something better for myself,” said Angus.
Angus didn’t even imagine she’d be able to walk independently after losing the use of her legs due to a sudden bleed in a tumor in her spinal cord. It wasn’t until she learned about human-in-motion robotics, a startup company making exoskeletons that allow patients like Angus to walk again.
“Not just walk but turn and go up and down stairs and slopes and navigate the world around me. I’ve even got dance moves in this baby.”
A dream come true, says Angus who is now the director of lived experience at Human in Motion Robotics.
“We’ve had to take all what he human body does and translate it into this device. The statement you’ll never walk again is no longer true. Thanks to technology like this,” said Dr. Siamak Arzanpour, the co-founder and CEO Human in Motion Robotics.
“With this exoskeleton, the user can do all the complex motions that the body can do, like walking forward at a different speed, backward walking, side stepping, turning, changing direction, sqat motions. You name it.”
Xomotion was featured at the robotics expo hosted by the University of Alberta on Tuesday.
Angus told CityNews showcasing her innovation at various Canadian cities and universities will help make technologies like Xomotion more accessible to people like her and remove barriers for those who live with disabilities.
“A person like myself whose lower limbs do not work at all and to see me get up and independently walk. It opens your mind and your eyes to what the future holds for all of us,” said Angus.
Angus says Xomotion has recently received Health Canada’s approval and will soon be available at clinics, hospitals, and research centres across Canada.
