BBC's Disability Correspondent Walks With Aid Of Exoskeleton

A disability correspondent for the BBC has walked by herself for the first time in a decade, aided by a motorised exoskeleton.

Nikki Fox, who was born with muscular dystrophy, was trained in using equipment that is strapped to the outside of a person's limbs.

The BBC posted a video of her walking in the exoskeleton, which it is believed could help many paralysed and disabled people to regain their independence.

"My legs hadn’t been that straight since 1995," said Ms Fox.

"What was quite unbelievable was how I felt afterwards. Standing for half an hour would usually be quite tough but it wasn't."

Earlier this month, Popular Science reported that Richmond, California-based Ekso Bionics is currently focusing on making its bionic suits available to clinics and rehabilitation centres around the USA.

The suits feature "variable assist" technology, allowing users to incrementally put as much of their own strength into the machine as they are able to at a time.

Expert Opinion

So many fantastic developments and advances are being seen in research related to allowing disabled people and those who have suffered serious injuries to regain their independence. <br/> <br/>"This is another fantastic story of the pioneering work being done in this area and, while it is of course early days, it demonstrates how there is a bright future in terms of further research into this kind of technology." Stephen Nye - Partner