As Air Force Association (AFA) President, I am proud to provide our members with Issue 2 of our newest member benefit, Health21 Magazine, co-founded by AMSUS, the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States. AFA is partnering on this health education initiative (www.health21initiative.org) to support a new vision of wellness and health care for the 21st Century that begins with military and veteran health. This edition of Health21 e-magazine focuses on diverse issues from an Airman’s personal story of living with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to genomic data cybersecurity to out-of-the-box therapies that are helping servicemen and women cope with PTSD. I hope you find the articles educational and inspiring!
This month, I want to take the opportunity to talk about blast injuries. As many of you know, explosive mechanisms, mostly improvised explosive devices (IEDs), are now the most common cause of injuries and death among all service members. This type of blast injury often results in “polytrauma,” which is frequently associated with TBI, ear and eye injuries, amputations and spinal cord injuries. According to a 2016 article in AMSUS’ Military Medicine magazine, in a retrospective study examining spinal-related hospitalizations of U.S. Army Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, spinal hospitalizations represented 8.2 percent of total injury admissions. This figure is up from a “relatively low percentage” of roughly 1 percent of all combat injuries in most 20th century conflicts prior to Iraq and Afghanistan. This is because “the pattern of war injuries in present conflicts is different from that encountered in previous wars.”
The good news is that improvements to personal protective equipment like vests and helmets, vehicle armor, military medicine and decreased medevac times have helped to increase survival compared to previous wars and conflicts. According to the article, “the case fatality rate is 8.8 percent for Afghanistan and Iraq compared to 16.5 percent for the Vietnam War and 22.8 percent for World War II.” These statistics represent mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. But now a technological innovation could have enormous impact on the battlefield to help decrease fatalities. And this technology goes even further; it is bettering the lives of those who suffer paralysis.
Fast forward to 2014 when 29-year-old paraplegic Juliano Pinto literally kicked-off the World Cup using a mind-controlled robotic extension. The U.S. military and private-sector partners have been developing and experimenting with a wearable exoskeleton since the 1960s when the first mobile machine was integrated with human movements. However, it was not until 2010 that major exoskeleton projects for the military were brought to the public’s attention. One of those was the HULC (Human Universal Load Carrier) by Ekso Bionics.
Sounds like science fiction, but a powered exoskeleton is a wearable mobile machine that is powered by a system of electric motors, pneumatics, levers, hydraulics, or a combination of technologies, which allow for limb movement with increased strength and endurance. Since 2005, Ekso Bionics has been pioneering the field of wearable exoskeletons to augment human strength, endurance and mobility. The company’s first commercially available product called EksoGTTM helped thousands of people living with paralysis take steps not otherwise possible. By designing and creating some of the most forward-thinking and innovative solutions for people looking to augment human capabilities, Ekso Bionics is helping people rethink current physical limitations and achieve the remarkable.
I would like to turn the remainder of the article over to Douglas Younger, Ekso Bionics’ director of global marketing, to share a little bit about this cutting-edge technology that is changing how wounded veterans live their lives:
Many people do not realize that after active military service, some veterans shift their focus from fighting for our country to fighting to regain their independence after an injury or illness sustained while deployed or after active duty. Whether returning with a spinal cord injury or suffering a stroke – which is prevalent among the veteran population – our exoskeleton device can help them get back on their feet earlier.
Exoskeleton technology was initially designed for active military use. In recent years, it has been re-engineered to help members of the military with any level of lower extremity weakness resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) or stroke to stand up and walk. Today, this technology is offered in hospitals and leading rehabilitation centers around the country to help veterans and active duty military personnel receive advanced gait therapy rehabilitation.
The Ekso GT™ is the first exoskeleton cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with stroke and spinal cord injuries from L5 to C7. It provides therapists a tool to offer a comprehensive and tailored treatment plan for patients. It is the only device with SmartAssist™ software that can provide adaptive amounts of power to either side of a patient’s body, which is especially useful for stroke rehabilitation, and it challenges patients as they progress through their physical therapy treatment plans. The suit’s patented technology provides the ability to mobilize patients earlier, more frequently and with a greater number of high intensity steps.
To date, this device has helped patients take more than 80 million steps in more than 185 rehabilitation institutions around the world. We, at Ekso Bionics, are especially honored that our technology is also helping those who have so bravely served our country.
If you are interested in seeing the device in action and hearing firsthand from people who have used the EksoGT, visit www.EksoBionics.com for patient story videos. We invite you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to stay updated.
AFA values the cutting edge technology that companies like Ekso Bionics provides for our wounded warriors. We look forward to honoring these heroes and seeing advanced technologies in-person next week at SkyBall. SkyBall is the largest event in the United States to support our nation’s military, wounded service members from all services, veterans and families of fallen military heroes. It is truly a one-of-a-kind experience that takes place in an American Airlines Hangar in Dallas, Texas, throughout the Veterans Day weekend of Nov. 9-11, 2017. Last year, Sky Ball raised more than $2.6 million to support our military. For more information, visit www.skyballinfo.com.
