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Each suit costs approximately $125,000. Ekso’s current FDA
approval requires the help of a physical therapist; however, the goal
is to obtain FDA approval for individual independent home and
community use. In order for that to happen, researchers must
demonstrate Ekso’s safety in various rehabilitation settings. To
that end, BIR has teamed with Texas Woman’s University to
become the first hospital in North Texas to begin using this innovative gait-training device and study its safety.
Elizabeth explained how the Ekso helps relieve the chronic nerve
pain she has lived with since her injury and improves her circulation. She also said that when she’s using the device, she can hug
her husband while in a standing position, as opposed to reaching
up to him from her wheelchair.
BIR Patient Perspective: TBI
Don Jackson with Audrey Self
BIR Patient Perspective: SCI
During the program, Board members heard from two BIR
patients: Elizabeth Daane, who survived an SCI in 2010, and
Audrey Self, who suffered a TBI during her junior year at Southern
Methodist University in 2013.
Though she no longer has the use of her legs, Elizabeth, a Dallas
attorney, demonstrated a robotic assistive device that allowed her
to walk from the back of the room to the lectern. The Ekso™ bionic
suit that Elizabeth demonstrated is a wearable exoskeleton that
uses mechanical leg braces and a backpack-computer to help
patients regain the ability to ambulate.
After spending six months at Baylor because of a TBI, Audrey
was admitted to BIR in a minimally conscious state. When she
was discharged four months later, her short-term memory was only
two minutes. Now two years later, Audrey is doing well enough
to resume her studies at SMU on a part-time basis in fall 2016.
Audrey told attendees, “I am so thankful for everyone who has
played a role in my recovery. I am grateful for them believing in
me and especially for not giving up. I feel my purpose is to share
my story, which may prove to others what I have always believed.
Hope really means nothing is impossible.”
For more information on Baylor’s innovative research initiatives, contact
Sarah Burdi at 214.820.4721 or [email protected].
“I am so thankful for everyone who has played a role in my recovery.
I am grateful for them believing in me and especially for not giving up.
I feel my purpose is to share my story, which may prove to others what
I have always believed. Hope really means nothing is impossible. ”
– Audrey Self
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