In this episode, Audrow Nash speaks to Russ Angold, co-founder and CTO of Ekso Bionics, about the wearable bionic suit, Ekso. This suit enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness to stand up and walk over ground with a natural, full weight bearing, reciprocal gait. Walking is achieved by the user’s weight shifts to activate sensors in the device which initiate steps. Battery-powered motors drive the legs, replacing deficient neuromuscular function.

Ekso provides functional based rehabilitation, over ground gait training, and upright, weight bearing exercises. It has been designed for the needs of busy therapists treating a wide range of patients in a single day. The suit is strapped over the users´ clothing with easy adjustments to transition between patients in as little as five minutes.

[youtube.com/watch?v=4czJUGoP9q8]

Russ Angold

Russ Angold is co-founder and CTO of Ekso Bionics. He works closely with the Lockheed Martin Corporation, licensing Ekso technology to further develop the HULC_TMexoskeleton for military use. Formerly Vice President of Engineering, Russ provided many of the concepts that shape today’s current designs as well as those of the ExoHiker_TM, ExoClimber_TM and HULC_TM.

Before Ekso Bionics, Russ held various engineering positions at Rain Bird Corporation, Berkeley Process Control and the Irrigation Training and Research Center in San Luis Obispo, California.

Russ has a bachelor’s degree in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is a California registered Professional Mechanical Engineer and has two granted patents and another seven pending.

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First came Ekso Bionics with an alternative public offering that netted $30.3 million; then Cyberdyne let its stock be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; and last week the WSJ reported that ReWalk Robotics had filed an IPO and planned to raise $57.5 million.

A recent Wintergreen research report said that the rehabilitation robot market will grow from $43.3 million to $1.8 billion by 2020. The report covers products such as rehab/therapy robots, active prostheses, exoskeletons and wearable robotics. It also describes patient needs for all types of injuries, disabilities and therapies and recaps dozens of companies involved in the industry, particularly AlterG, InMotion, Ekso Bionics, Myomo, Cyberdyne, ReWalk Robotics and Hocoma. Now, three of those companies have gone public.

Rewalk Robotics (previously named Argo Medical Technologies), an Israeli start-up, received FDA approval in June for their exoskeleton to aid movement for people with lower body paralysis and last week the WSJ reported that the company plans to raise up to $57.5 million from an IPO. It has partnered with Yaskawa and others involved in the distribution of rehabilitation devices. The company is now headquartered in Marlborough, MA and the stock will appear on the NASDAQ Exchange.

Cyberdyne, a spin-off from the University of Tsukuba, has developed a complete line of exoskeleton products (HAL) for brain and mobility disabilities as well as non-medical purposes such as eldercare and worker assistance devices. On March 26, 2014, Cyberdyne let its stock be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange  CEO Yoshiyuki Sankai will retain the majority voting rights “in order to prevent the company’s technology from ever being used for military purposes.” Cyberdyne is offering a lower-limb version of their HAL device in Europe after receiving CE Marking approval. FDA approval is pending. Cyberdyne also has a line of industrial grade autonomous floor cleaning robots.

Ekso Bionics Holdings did an alternative public offering in January, 2014 and changed its name once again – from Berkeley Bionics to Ekso Bionics to Ekso Bionics Holdings. The company has licensed a military version of its exoskeleton to Lockheed Martin and also has set up a division to further intellectual property through contracts and research grants. Their Ekso exoskeleton is available through collaborative rehab centers all over the world.

Ekso Bionics Holdings (OTCBB:EKSO):

In an alternative public offering in January, 2014, Ekso Bionics, a Delaware corporation headquartered in Richmond, California became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ekso Bionics Holdings, a Nevada corporation. The new holding company changed its name from PN Med Group which was listed on the over-the-counter stock exchange as EKSO. Simultaneously the new company completed a $30.3 million private placement. The launch price was $2.50 per share.

Since then, Ekso has split off its technology development into a separate division chartered to further intellectual property through engineering contracts and research grants including the DoD and Lockheed (which has licensed Ekso’s HULC military version of exoskeleton) and collaborated with 3D Systems to debut the first ever 3D-printed hybrid robotic suit.

Since 2005, Ekso Bionics has researched and developed robotic exoskeletons, AKA wearable robots, to augment human strength, endurance and mobility. The company’s first commercially available product (called Ekso) has helped thousands of people living with paralysis take millions of steps not otherwise possible.

Medtech SAS (EPA:ROSA):

In November, 2013, Medtech SAS, launched an IPO worth approximately $27 million (€20 million) at a launch price of €26.75 with the ticker symbol ROSA. The stock is listed on Euronext Paris (EPA) Exchange.

Medtech is a France-based company that manufactures medical robots for surgical assistance. The Company’s main product, the ROSA, combines neurosurgical planning software, navigation and robotic functions, haptic technology and visualization capabilities for both cranial neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.

Cyberdyne Inc (TYO:7779):

Not really an IPO, but notable anyway, on March 26, 2014, Cyberdyne let its stock be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange at a price of ¥3,700 ($36.06) with the ticker symbol of 7779. The stock launched with a flurry of publicity from scary to straightforward. Cyberdyne, after all, was the name of Skynet of the Terminator series of Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and HAL, the name of Cyberdyne’s line of exoskeletons, was the name of the computer in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Subsequent to the launch, in a private placement of approximately $1 million dollars, 304,200 privately held shares were sold to raise funds needed for the acquisition of fixed assets and investment in a subsidiary.

Cyberdyne was established in June 2004 as a spin-off from the University of Tsukuba to build a strong research and development organization to provide technology and treatment methods in the field of physical movement and rehabilitation therapy. Working with insurers (healthcare and worker’s compensation) in Germany and Japan, Cyberdyne has developed a complete line of exoskeleton products (HAL) for brain and mobility disabilities as well as non-medical purposes such as eldercare and worker assistance devices.