The hit TV show showcases Israeli ingenuity when a robotic exoskeleton designed in Israel to help paraplegics walk and climb stairs alone was featured.
By NICKY BLACKBURNGlee(photo credit: PR)
A robotic exoskeleton designed in Israel to help paraplegics walk and climb stairs alone has become the unexpected star of Glee, one of TV’s most popular programs.Argo Medical - RewalkWhen Artie Abrams, the disabled member of West McKinley High School's Glee club, got up and walked during the program's Christmas special with the aid of a robotic exoskeleton, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.“It was invented by some guy in Israel," says Artie, played by actor Kevin McHale, one of the popular TV show’s most endearing characters, a paraplegic teenager who knows how to belt out a great tune.12 February 2011 It was a poignant moment for the millions of viewers who have watched Artie deal with the pressures of being wheelchairbound in an able-bodied and deeply prejudiced society. For Argo Medical Technologies, the Israeli company that created this unique technology that gives wheelchair users the opportunity to walk, climb stairs and meet the world eye to eye, the show marked a significant turning point in the company’s history.Since the show aired, the eight year old company that developed a quasi-robotic exoskeleton, which includes leg braces with motorized joints and motion sensors, a brace support suit and a backpack with a computer and battery, has been working hard to develop and test the technology with clinical trials at the Moss Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia in the US and at the Rehabilitation Hospital at Chaim Sheba Medical Center - Tel Hashomer in Israel.The 12-employee company has already received CE approval for Europe and has FDA approval for use in rehabilitation centers.FDA approval for personal use is expected to follow soon. The product has also been written about extensively on popular blogs like MedGadget, Gizmodo and Engadget, as well as blogs serving the disabled community. Reuters has its own video of the device.The ReWalk has also been covered everywhere from Canada's National Post to Italy’s Corriere della Serra.Over 14 TV stations ran their own stories on the technology, from ABC News to the BBC and CNN. The Israeli company even got coverage in the Teheran Times.In late 2010, according to Oren Tamari, Argo’s chief operating officer, the company got an unexpected call from the producers of Glee.
A week later the episode was filmed and in early December, American audiences saw Artie walk using the device, called ReWalk. "It was Christmas magic," Tamari said with a smile. "They approached us and it all happened very quickly." ReWalk went on sale in January and costs about $100,000. "We started sales very slowly, one customer at a time, in order to be able to give everyone the best possible service," said Tamari.Aside from enabling users to walk, using crutches for stability and support, the seven-pound device also treats some of the cardiovascular, digestive and circulatory health complications which many wheelchair users suffer.The exoskeleton has a moving story of its own. It was the brainchild of an Israeli electrical engineer, Dr. Amit Goffer, who was left quadriplegic after a devastating car accident several years ago. He decided to develop a system that allows wheelchair users to walk, climb stairs and meet the world on the same level.After intensive rehabilitation, Goffer began developing the ReWalk prototype in his home, funding it privately and with a Tnufa - Startup Promotion Program grant. He later entered the Technion Incubator, TechnionSeed, for a two-year stint and got financing from VC funds, Vitalife, ProSeed, TechnionSeed, the Technion R&D Foundation, and the Office of the Chief Scientist (of Israel).“What we want to do is have the person wake up in the morning, put on clothes, put on the ReWalk, go to work and go throughout the day wearing it," Goffer, the founder and director of Argo, said.Now based in Yokneam in Israel's north, the company's target market is the community of wheelchair users in the Western world, of which 300,000 are spinal cord injury sufferers (125,000 in the US and 175,000 in ROW) who are physically able to use crutches as a stabilizing tool.Aside from the massive press interest, the ReWalk has also attracted the interest of other Hollywood stars. In April 2009, Paul Reiser, comedian, author and the star of 1990s hit TV show Mad About You, saw another article about Argo Medical and the ReWalk and was intrigued enough to follow it up with a visit to the company with his family.While ReWalk holds out hope for thousands of people, sadly the man who devised the system still cannot benefit from his own invention.Goffer has partial use of his hands, but it is not enough to operate the ReWalk.In a recent interview, Goffer said, "This isn't the first company I've founded. My incentive to develop it was a business opportunity.When I was injured the first thing I was offered was the only thing: a wheelchair. I do believe that in the future, in many cases, the ReWalk - or its competition - might be offered.I don't see any reason for the wheelchair to be the sole solution.There hasn't been a real change [in the technology] for centuries." "We're taking a safe business approach, starting with paraplegics, and the time for a quadriplegic like me will come," he added.Back on Glee, some attributed the generous present to Artie as a present from Beast, the high school football coach. Others are calling it a Christmas miracle. We think it’s a miracle all year round. For more information on the ReWalk, go to www.argomedtec.com.Word Table
