RXB – Northamptonshire: “Miracle” exoskeleton gives disabled people the chance to walk again

ITV Report link here.

22 December 2014

A physiotherapy service in Northamptonshire is giving people the chance to walk again with the world’s first self-supporting robotic exoskeleton.

The device means people with mobility problems can move around without crutches or a walking frame.

It’s got the backing of Winter Paralympic star Anna Turney who broke her back while snowboarding.

She hasn’t been able to walk for eight years, and says that the exoskeleton has changed her life.

“It feels great, it’s amazing.

It’s lovely to be standing upright – it’s quite robotic and it’s quite weird, but it’s good fun.

I stand up at home with crutches, but I can’t balance very well at all and after I’ve been there twenty minutes my back really aches, whereas with this, I can stand all day.”

– ANNA TURNEY, PARALYMPIC SIT-SKIER

After the heartbreak of Anna’s accident, her mother Maggie has described seeing her daughter walk again as a “miracle”.

“It was a horrendous journey, but here we are now, seeing a miracle really. It’s incredible.”

– MAGGIE TURNEY, ANNA’S MOTHER

The service in Northamptonshire is the first in the country to offer patients the chance to use the device – a life-changing prospect for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps.