Signal: Mobility exoskeleton developer Wandercraft begins operations in US

Wandercraft, the developer of mobility exoskeleton Atalante X, announced yesterday (12 October) the beginning of commercial operations in the US through a research partnership with the Kessler Foundation.

Following FDA approval of Atalante for use in stroke rehabilitation in December 2022, the company is looking to expand its presence in the US, opening a new base in New York. The device was approved for use in the EU in 2019 and has since been used to treat over 650 patients across over 5,000 sessions.

Wandercraft claims Atalante X has a world-first self-balancing feature, meaning the exoskeleton can be used hands-free, keeping itself – and the user – upright at a wide range of motion. This allows stroke victims and those suffering from other mobility-reducing conditions to conduct physiotherapy in a safe environment. The company also gamifies rehabilitation, which it hopes will make the difficult and occasionally disheartening process of regaining mobility more engaging.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 800,000 people in the US have a stroke each year and over 300,000 have experienced a traumatic spinal cord injury.

Wandercraft’s partnership with the Kessler Foundation is a vote of confidence from one of the country’s largest disability research and rehabilitation organisations. The nonprofit already utilises a range of robotics in its rehabilitation centres, including mobility exoskeletons Ekso GT, ReWalk and Indego.

By joining their research efforts, the Kessler Foundation “anticipate[s] gaining insight into ways to improve gait rehabilitation through advanced robotic-assisted walking,” according to Karen J. Nolan, PhD, associate director of the Center for Mobility and Rehabilitation Engineering Research.

Robotics is an increasingly important market across all sectors, particularly in the medical devices world. Robots of all shapes and sizes are being tested and employed in the field, from surgical-assistive robots allowing for precision keyhole surgery to ‘microbots’ that enter the spinal column to destroy brain tumours. The total market size across all industries is expected to reach $218bn by 2030, GlobalData analysis indicates.

Despite this, the number of new patents filed relating to robotics remains lower than almost any other technology theme, remaining at around 1,000 per quarter, five times fewer than the most patented theme, artificial intelligence.

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