The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD is conducting an ongoing trial, using the Agilik device. They are actively seeking patients now. If you believe you or your child/patient may be a good candidate and you can be in the Bethesda area, please review the study description and eligibility information here. Contact details for Dr. Bulea and Mr. Matsubara are also contained therein.
Research, including clinical and field trials, is central to the development of our products. Bionic Power has tested our energy harvesting exoskeleton with the Canadian, US, and Israeli militaries: running through obstacle courses while wearing the exoskeleton to make sure they do not hinder movement; marching through the jungles of Hawaii and the deserts of Israel to see how much energy our first exoskeleton could harvest from the negative work done by the knees. We are working with patients at the NIH to determine the effects of the Agilik, and our newest trial started in Vancouver, BC in April 2022 with BC Children’s Hospital. The Israel Defense Forces are currently working with Bionic Power to increase the metabolic benefit of the augmented Amplify non-medical exoskeleton.
Our Agilik medical device is the result of over ten years of research and development for the harvester and the Amplify non-medical exoskeleton. The Agilik smart orthosis is currently in clinical trials to see just how much extension we can add to patients’ gait and how much easier we can make it for them to walk. New trials of our products are expected this year to further advance product development.
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (NIHCC) Functional & Applied Biomechanics Section created a new prototype exoskeleton for children with crouch gait from cerebral palsy and conducted a trial in 2017 that showed walking with their device resulted in “improvements in knee extension in six of seven participants with gains (8° to 37°) similar to or greater than those reported from invasive surgical interventions (1, 2).”1 The NIHCC is continuing this research with Agilik smart orthoses in an on-going trial.
Researchers at the Functional and Applied Biomechanics Section at the NIHCC are committed to developing and testing wearable exoskeleton devices for improving walking in children with cerebral palsy as well as other pediatric disorders that affect mobility such as muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, and incomplete spinal cord injury. Bionic Power has established a partnership with the NIH to test the effectiveness of our Agilik device for pediatric rehabilitation and this study is currently underway.
Bionic Power’s study with the NIH is specifically examining the effect on gait while patients (with crouch gait due to knee extension deficit) are wearing our device and the therapeutic effect on gait after it is removed. The anticipated endpoints are improved knee extension with reduced crouch and increased stride length. We are investigating if this will also reduce their energy expenditure while walking.
The NIH Clinical Center is a federal agency under Health and Human Services and does not endorse any commercial services, commodities, or products.
(1) Z. F. Lerner, D. L. Damiano, T. C. Bulea, A lower-extremity exoskeleton improves knee extension in children with crouch gait from cerebral palsy. Sci. Transl. Med. 9, 404, eaam9145 (2017).