An out-of-warranty battery almost left this paralyzed man’s exoskeleton useless

Michael Straight, a erstwhile jockey paralyzed from the waist down, was near incapable to locomotion for 2 months aft the institution down his $100,000 exoskeleton refused to hole a artillery issue, arsenic reported earlier by the Paulick Report and 404 Media. “I called [the company] reasoning it was nary large deal, yet I was told they stopped moving connected immoderate instrumentality that was 5 years oregon older,” Straight wrote connected Facebook, referring to a wiring occupation successful the ticker helium wears to run the machine.

“I find it precise hard to judge aft paying astir $100,000 for the instrumentality and grooming that a $20 artillery for the ticker is the crushed I can’t locomotion anymore?” helium wrote. Straight has been using the ReWalk exoskeleton since 2014, pursuing a horseback riding mishap years prior.

His concern isn’t the lone 1 similar this. In 2020, the aesculapian steadfast down a retinal implant that helps unsighted radical spot went bankrupt and abandoned the technology, leaving its users without support if thing goes wrong. This Nature study besides explains what happened to patients aft the illness of companies down implantable devices utilized to dainty conditions similar clump headaches and chronic pain, oregon erstwhile their prototype devices languish if the companies can’t find a acceptable successful the market.

Lifeward, the institution that makes the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton, fixed the contented days aft Straight’s communicative appeared successful the Paulick Report and connected a section Florida quality station. “What took maine 2 months and got maine nary results, lone took you guys 4 days,” Straight said successful a video connected Facebook implicit the weekend.

In a connection to The Verge, Lifeward spokesperson Kathleen O’Donnell said the institution is “pleased to study that we got successful interaction with Mr. Straight past week, and we were capable to resoluteness the contented with his instrumentality implicit the weekend.” She besides said Lifeward is “committed to moving to grow entree to exoskeletons done reimbursement coverage,” but that whitethorn not assistance radical who either can’t oregon simply don’t privation to regenerate the devices they have.