If I asked you where Britain’s most cutting-edge medical technology was in use, you probably wouldn’t suggest a small country town. But the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital in Aylesbury is one of only a handful in the UK to use experimental robotics to help rehabilitate its patients.
Royal Bucks specialises in rehabilitating patients who have suffered neurological damage. In the last few years, the hospital has started to employ a range of robotic exoskeletons to help patients who struggle to walk. A couple of weeks ago, I went to watch a patient use one of these devices.
Stephen has been paralysed from the waist down for almost seven years. In order to maintain circulation and muscle mass in his legs, he uses a standing frame every day – but until recently, the only way he could get around was in a wheelchair.
Within seconds of donning an exoskeleton, Stephen is up and walking, moving slowly from one end of the ward to the other. He walks on a Zimmer frame, assisted by two therapists – but without these suits, any form of walking would be completely out of the question.
The benefits of this exercise are twofold: Stephen gets a huge psychological boost by walking on his own two feet – he’s visibly happier after the session than he was when it began; and, as his lead physio tells me, walking with the suit allows Stephen to perform a level of cardio exercise that would be impossible otherwise.
For now, exoskeletons are just therapeutic tools. But as they become lighter and cheaper, they could become part of everyday life for people with disabilities. At that point, people like Stephen will be able to live with a degree of independence they never thought possible.
Mischa writes about new technology for Frontier Tech Investor, the MoneyWeek Research newsletter dedicated to investment in cutting-edge science. As well as medicine, it covers artificial intelligence, energy and much more. For more information on Frontier Tech Investor, click here.