CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — The Summer Olympics may be over, but a viral technology that emerged in Paris is now present in the Lehigh Valley.
The only clinical users of the robotic exoskeleton showcased at the national Olympics are local healthcare providers.
“This was planned well before the Paris Olympics, it just so happened that they were the torchbearers,” said Emily Reiter of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation.
She serves as administrative director of Good Shepherd Learns, Creates, and Research, a program that provides learning opportunities for clinicians with the goal of improving patient care.
2024 Para-athlete Kevin Piette walked carrying the Olympic torch aboard Wondacraft's Atalante X.
The robotic exoskeleton uses hands-free and self-balancing technology to help those with little mobility walk. Reiter said the robot is designed for people who have suffered strokes or spinal cord injuries and have weak legs, helping them walk and move in an upright position.
Brittany Sweeney
/
Lehigh Valley News
Kevin Auld demonstrated the Empower+ technology at Good Shepherd's Center Valley campus on Aug. 28. Auld suffered a spinal cord injury in a snowmobile accident several years ago that left him paralyzed.
“When a patient puts on the device, they lean forward and the device itself lifts them up. Then, while still wearing the device, the patient can walk, squat, balance or do anything that the therapist really feels is most important to helping the patient achieve their goals,” she said.
Patient Experience
Allentown resident Kevin Auld was one of the first patients in the Lehigh Valley to use the device.
“It was like walking again after 25 years in a wheelchair. It was amazing,” said Ort, who was paralyzed in a snowmobile accident in 2001.
“Having equipment like this is great because it gives you hope. It gives you hope back, it helps you get up and walk.”
Kevin Ault
“Having a device like this is great because it gives you hope. It gives you hope, it helps you get up and walk,” he said. “This device has helped me a lot. I can now side step. I haven't been able to side step since my accident.”
“I can now turn around on my own. I can walk without crutches or a walker. I can even bend over.”
Mr Auld said he needed no training and was walking as soon as he was strapped into the machine and put into a harness, but the most exciting moment was when he was able to stand up to embrace his wife.
“My wife is a lot smaller than me, so I was able to bend down enough to hold her, even though I'm 6'1″,” he said. “It was the first time I'd ever held her in a machine, and it felt really good. It meant a lot.”
Auld demonstrated how the technology works Wednesday at Center Valley Hospital's Good Shepherd Empower Plus unit.
“It makes you feel human. Just standing there and looking someone in the eye is an amazing feeling.”
Kevin Auld, Allentown
“The experience was amazing, it made me feel good. I felt human again. I feel human. Just standing there and looking someone in the eyes is an amazing feeling.”
“We're the first in the United States to bring this technology to clinical use, meaning we're using it with patients who are in a rehabilitation hospital or who are receiving outpatient care after something like a spinal cord injury, where we're using robotic and exoskeleton technology to help them regain their ability to walk,” said Michael Spiegel, president and CEO of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation.
Brittany Sweeney
/
Lehigh Valley News
Kevin Auld demonstrated the Empower+ technology at Good Shepherd's Center Valley campus on Aug. 28. Auld suffered a spinal cord injury in a snowmobile accident several years ago that left him paralyzed.
Funding by Fleming
He explained that the technology was funded by a grant from the Fleming Foundation.
“We're always looking at how we can provide cutting edge technology that we think will really benefit patients or people who live in Silicon Valley with some kind of disability. So we see our role as providing people with something that they might not be able to get in Silicon Valley,” Spiegel said.
The exoskeleton will be used for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation over the next few months, after which Good Shepherd will decide whether to purchase another one for its network, Spiegel said.
