Spanish scientist invents 'bionic legs' so disabled children can walk
Wednesday, August 19, 2015 @ 1:21 PM
A SET of 'bionic legs' allowing paralysed children to walk again has been invented in Spain and given youngsters a new lease of life.
Daniela, 12, from Madrid, was left tetraplegic in a car accident when she was a baby, but has now just walked for the first time thanks to the pioneering Atlas 2020.
The 'robot legs' are referred to as an 'exo-skeleton', and are effectively frames that encase the child's own legs.
They are powered by several small engines which 'walk' on the child's behalf.
Dr Elena García, an industrial engineer at Spain's national science institute – the CSIC – had been working on prototypes to prevent injuries to industrial workers whose jobs involved lifting heavy weights.
Her research involved developing machines which helped control workers' balance in movement over obstacles and uneven ground.
But when Dr García met Daniela and her parents Carmen and Pablo, she changed the course of her research and came up with a bionic exo-skeleton which allowed the youngster to stand.
Elena was contacted by a flood of medics wanting to find out how they could get their hands on one of her inventions, saying it would not only improve quality of life for the approximately 120,000 children in Spain with serious mobility difficulties, but would also extend their life expectancy as they would be less at risk of health problems which come with not moving, such as thrombosis and poor circulation.
She set up the company Marsi Bionics, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to amass the €150,000 she needs to get started.
A further €1 million from investors will allow her to mass-produce the Atlas 2020 and get paralysed children walking again.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com