not_so_hot_wheels

The purpose of the study i was doing was to see if it is worth using exoskeletons as part of rehabilitation.

I think it varies hugely from person to person. I am quite happy in the wheelchair and i find it quite fun. I found the exoskeletons pretty hard to use. After 20h i could not use it independently.

There are a few issues. The battery life is around 4h for the suit. You still need to use a wheelchair to get from your bed to the suit. They are quite tough to get yourself in and set up yourself, and it will take far longer than getting in a wheelchair. You also need to use crutches when using it which is quite a limitation.

On the other hand. They are still new, and even in the past 5 years they have come on a long way. For some people who really dislike being in a wheelchair it is good for them. The skeleton is great for your body: In a wheelchair you get brittle bones, you must stand 3 items a week, 1h a day (in a standing frame) to stop this. An exo skeleton is great for this, it is good for your posture, and it is good for your digestive system.

I would probably only use one as an alternative to using my standing frame, but in the future maybe i would use one if they got a lot better.

ninja edit: it is great how much attention they are bringing to spinal cord injuries, which helps funding for other aspects of spinal cord injury research.

yep

1) how old are you? 26

2) are you on a break from work or about to go to uni? bartender

3) where will you go next?

4) did you not think it would be better to spend longer in each country and see fewer rather than blitzing around the world in 3 months?

5) do you have any regrets?

6) how much did you spend? 10k

thanks for the ama, sorry for not reading through it all before my questions, i edited it :)

nope

I fell off my bike. I can't remember what happened. The doctors think i went over the handle bars and landed on my neck and shoulders, pushing my spine down and breaking at the bottom.

Last thing i remember was being in a shop about 200m from where we were staying. Next thing i remember was waking up on the grass surrounded by people, not being able to feel my legs and thinking 'shit what have i done this time'.