Precision engineering firm Parker Hannifin, which supplies parts to Caterpillar and Boeing, is seeking FDA approval for its new Indego exoskeleton — designed for people who cannot walk on their own.
CEO Don Washkewicz issued a challenge to his executives 3.5 years ago to help disabled people walk.
He said: “We wanted to have something that was new to the industry, and new to the world.”
The Indego is based on a set of motorised robotic braces that support, bend and move the legs of people who cannot walk on their own because of spinal-cord injuries, multiple sclerosis or strokes. It weighs 26lb and could benefit an estimated 1.7 million people in the USA alone, including 25,000 military veterans with spinal-cord injuries.
As a newcomer to medical products, Parker Hannifin may face a long and costly learning curve in getting FDA approval for Indego, and then marketing it.
The company, which is based in Cleveland, recently began trials of the device with 40 people at five rehabilitation centres in the USA.
It expects to achieve approval in 2015.