Suffering from polio since the age of 14, a British man has found walking thanks to a particularly innovative exoskeleton.
It is “a revolution” for this Briton who could not move easily since he contracted polio almost 50 years ago. John Simpson, now 63, got back to walking this week thanks to an innovative device: the “C-Brace”, produced by the Ottoboc company specializing in orthopedic devices and prostheses, is the only exoskeleton of this type. Constructed of carbon fiber, it uses a microprocessor and sensors that allow the knee to control all aspects of walking, and can be worn on one or both legs.
“For as long as I can remember, I must have walked with a locked knee, which made me clumsy, clumsy, and put a lot of pressure on my lower back. Over the years, I have tried new braces, and therapies, but nothing has ever helped me walk better and so I ended up keeping my steel “stirrups”, ”John Simpson told newspaper Your Local Guardian. Thanks to this new device, “I can walk naturally, without worrying about my leg going loose, causing me to fall. I can go down the steps bending my knee without fear, since the device provides intuitive support ”.
The C-Brace, the device that allows John Simpson to walk easily again – REX / REX / SIPA
The only problem: the price. To have the joy of being the first to try the C-Brace, John Simpson had to pay “between 40 and 60,000 pounds sterling” (between 53 and 80,000 euros) according to the BBC.
A very dangerous virus
Polio is an extremely contagious disease affecting mainly children under 5 years old. The polio virus is spread through contaminated food or water and spreads through the intestine. It can reach the nervous system and cause paralysis (in one in 200 infections). Within hours, it can be irreversible.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recorded 91 cases of polio last year. According to the WHO, the number of cases has still fallen by 99% since 1988, thanks to the global effort to eradicate the disease.
In France, the last case of indigenous polio dates back to 1989 and the last imported case in 1995, both involving adults. While polio vaccination coverage is very high in the youngest age groups (between 99% at 2 years and 90% at 15 years), but slightly less in adults (66% on average).
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