Startup claims its exoskeleton can improve mobility of patients

According to the startup, the exercise on the machine is three times more effective compared to manual physiotherapy

The robotic exoskeleton on display at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Tuesday.

Robotics may hold the promise of revolutionising healthcare, especially in the physical mobility of patients who are unable to stand and walk owing to various health conditions. And startups in this field have pinned their hopes on bringing about this change.

Bengaluru city has over 400 startups in the robotics and IoT (Internet of Things) spaces and one such venture, Bionic Yantra, claims to have designed and developed a wearable robotic exoskeleton, which they say will help wheelchair-bound people and patients after surgeries improve their mobility. According to the startup, the exercise on the machine is three times more effective compared to manual physiotherapy. The device is designed to be 100% fall-free, keeping the biggest fear at bay.

Shiva Nagarajan, founder and director of Bionic Yantra, told

The Hindu that a commercial version of the device, developed in technological collaboration with IIIT-B, will be ready for markets in January next year.

“We are talking to hospitals across the country. With this rehab device, the time of hospitalisation post surgeries will come down. The machine, that gives robotics-assisted limb movements, is also designed for patients with spinal cord injury, stroke, dual leg fractures, obesity and auto-immune diseases. The device can be used for anyone who has trouble walking or standing up,” he said.

The machine comes with sensors to capture data such as the maximum and minimum speed of walking, number of steps taken, and range of motion of the knees and hips.“This helps doctors understand a patient’s progress. The data collected can also be used to detect patterns through artificial intelligence so we can improve the efficacy of the machine in the future,” he said.

Sakra World Hospital has already tested the robotic exoskeleton on a trial basis. “The device has been built with focus on the needs of patients to overcome the inability to stand and walk owing to disease of injury and also assist physiotherapists to perform difficult tasks with ease,” said Maheswarappa, senior consultant and head of Physical Medicine and Rehab at Sakra World Hospital.

The first model of wearable robotic exoskeleton is on display at the Bengaluru Technology Summit.