JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #134 - May/June 2020 - 54

SOLUTlONS healthcare
Three out of every five workers in
the EU report MSD complaints.
The most common types are
backache and muscular pains in
the upper limbs. 60% of all workers in the EU with a work-related
health problem identify MSDs
as their most serious issue [4].
MSDs are the most common
cause of sickness absence at work
and severe disability, as well as
limited capabilities up to premature incapacity at work [5].
Exoskeletons seem to be an
appropriate approach to address the issue of work-related
musculoskeletal
disorders
(WRMSDs). They can be
classified into three groups:
lower, upper and full-body
exoskeletons and can be applied
as technical, medical or personal
protective devices, depending
on their intended use in the
workplace [6]. Growth forecasts
for exoskeleton robots vary according to the respective source,
but all of these statistics show
remarkable growth rates. The
Robotic Industries Association
forecasts that the market for
exoskeleton robots will reach
$2.8 billion by 2023. These figures include exoskeleton robots
with potential uses ranging from
consumer products to military
deployment. Even in aerospace,
they seem to be indispensable,
providing humans the only
chance to move on foreign planets due to different gravitation
conditions [7]. The market is
expected to explode with an
astounding annual growth rate
of 45.2% comprising hardware
and software elements [8].
Exoskeleton robots are defined
as "a unique form of professional
service robots, deployed in
a wide range of applications,
intended to mimic, augment or
enhance the body's own movements". According to US mar-

ket-foresight advisory firm ABI
Research, the market volume for
exoskeletons will reach around
300,000 items worldwide in
2028 [9]. Another recent study
of Wintergreen Research on
wearable exoskeleton robots
predicts that the market will
reach $5.2 billion by 2025 [10].
The primary applications for
exoskeleton robots in today's
market focus on rehabilitation
services in the medical field - as
the RIA report states [11]. In
addition to paraplegia patients,
they support patients with
traumatic brain injury or those
having suffered a stroke to
regain part of their flexibility.
JCM discussed these
exciting applications with
Stephan Aderhold, vice
president sales & marketing EMEA, Ekso Bionics
Europe GmbH.
Ekso Bionics, a global pioneer
in the manufacture of robotic
exoskeletons, was founded in
2005 in collaboration with the
Berkeley Robotics and Human
Engineering Laboratory of
the University of California,
Berkeley. The US company's
headquarters are located in
Richmond, California. Since
2017, its European headquarters
have been based in Hamburg,
Germany. Ekso Bionics works
with more than 300 rehabilitation clinics and hospitals in more
than 30 countries around the
world. EksoGT is the first exoskeleton FDA-cleared for stroke
and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. It helps patients to stand
and walk during rehabilitation,
loaded with a powerful software
that gives real-time feedback
to physicians and patients.
Worldwide, 15 million persons
suffer from stroke attacks every
year and 500,000 are victims of
spinal cord injuries [12].

jec composites magazine / N°134 May - June 2020

In the very beginning,
EksoWorks, who became
Berkeley Bionics in 2007, developed exoskeletons for military
purposes. They were the original
developers of HULC (Human
Universal Load Carrier), now
under military development
by Lockheed Martin. HULC
was designed to enable soldiers
to carry heavy loads at high
walking speed during a longer
period [13].
Ekso, former eLegs, an intelligent bionic exoskeleton allowing wheelchair users to stand

and walk, is another outstanding
innovation from that company.
Ekso Bionics became a public
company in 2014.
Europe is an important market
and the European headquarters
account for almost 50% of the
company's installations.
Ekso NR requires active assistance on the part of the patient
and is intended for use as a gait
training device to improve walking function and independence
for patients with a neurological
or muscular injury or illness.

Stephan Aderhold
- Vice President sales & marketing, EMEA
- With EksoBionics since 2017
- More than 12 years' experience in the
healthcare sector (ophthalmology, gastroenterology, and neurorehabilitation)

JEC Composites Magazine:
What growth potential do you
foresee for exoskeletons in the
upcoming years, particularly
with regards to digitization and
the new challenges associated
with artificial intelligence?

Stephan Aderhold.:

I think we will face essential
enhancements in the near future. For therapy, our device
provides many advantages.
For pure mobility purposes,
the current exoskeletons are
not very useful or even as a
wheelchair replacement. Battery runtime is still an issue
although we deliver two sets
of batteries, each running
around four hours, making
it suitable for permanent use
during the day. I believe that,
in the foreseeable future, patients will wear an exoskeleton much more easily, like a
second skin.

What is your personal vision regarding exoskeletons for the future? If you could make a wish,
what would it be?

S.A.: I wish that exoskeletons
will find a broader awareness
within the next years. We, as experts in different industries, have
to provide targeted information
and perform awareness training
to explain what exoskeletons
really mean to humans, how they
may enrich individual lives. We
have to remove people's fear of
exoskeletons as robots replacing
therapists or physicians and taking away their jobs. Quite the
contrary, they rather make our lives easier, granting us the chance
to work more effectively and efficiently and to stay healthier. Exoskeletons are still in their infancy.
We will witness a lot of improvements and ways that continue to
be explored within the next ten
years.

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #134 - May/June 2020

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