GOOD NEWS ISRAEL
================

Israeli Technology Brings Mobility to the Immobile
**************************************************

GAMLA HOMEPAGE: http://www.gamla.org.il/english

An Israeli company called ReWalk has created a product that can restore
upright mobility for paraplegics, quadriplegics and others with trouble
walking, according to a report in BioIsrael.


The device uses motors and sensors to enable people without the ability
to move lower limbs to carry out routine motor functions such as
standing, walking and climbing stairs. The ReWalk is a light, wearable
brace support suit which comprises DC motors at the joints, rechargeable
batteries, an array of sensors and a computer-based control system.

"We aim to end the 200-year monopoly of the wheelchair," said Dr. Amit
Goffer, the CEO and founder of the company that is developing ReWalk ?
Argo Medical Technologies. "The device promises to restore the dignity
of disabled persons, enabling them to work and improve their general
health and quality of life, as well as significantly reduce medical and
other related expenses," says Goffer.

The product is still in the prototype stage but Goffer told BioIsrael
that upon completion of fund-raising the company could have a product on
the market within four years.

Goffer is also the founder of Odin Medical, the developer of a mini-MRI
imaging device which enables brain surgeons to conduct real-time brain
scans in the operating room.

"Before I came up with the idea for both the mini-MRI and ReWalk, I was
puzzled by the question of why each product didn?t already exist as each
meets such an obvious and large need," says Goffer.

There are already devices on the market that seek to bring mobility to
the immobile, but what makes ReWalk unique is the way in which the user
is actively involved in the walk-restoration and other mobility
functions. Upper-body motions are analyzed and used to trigger and
maintain normal walk patterns and common movements like standing up from
the sitting position. "Also, it?s important to point out that because
the ReWalk is snugly fitted on the body and worn underneath the
clothing, it also helps the users avoid the type of visible stigma that
a wheelchair user faces," says Goffer.

Goffer hopes that ReWalk will enable many people with disabilities to
regain mobility and enable them to enter or return to the workforce, as
well.


\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\