Robotic Device Helps Paralyzed Patient to Move through Mind Control

Offshore workers who have suffered a spinal cord injury, and are no longer able to move their lower limbs, may be interested in the recent development of a mind-controlled robotic exoskeleton. The device works on a command by the user in the form of a thought.

Simply put, when the user who’s wearing the robotic device, thinks about moving, his brain immediately converts this thought into a command to the exoskeleton to move the legs forward. In this way, the person can think and walk.

The device is manufacturer by a Belgian company, and is believed to be the first such exoskeleton that relies on mind control, or the thoughts of the user, to function. There are several other exoskeletons like this available in the market, but they are not based on mind control.

Spinal injuries are usually caused when a maritime worker suffers a fall accident on a vessel, or a port. These accidents can occur when a person slips from a ladder, when he falls from an elevation, or where he slips and falls on a vessel deck. In fact, falls are the number one cause of spinal injuries in the United States.

A maritime worker, who has suffered a serious spinal cord injury, can suffer paralysis in the lower limbs that may make him unable to walk. He may suffer loss of sensation or movement in his lower limbs. In such cases, there may be no complete cure for the injury, but a robotic skeleton device like this can help the person take small steps and move about with limited gait.

The Houston offshore injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers represent injured offshore workers who have been injured in accidents along the Gulf Coast.