Vanderbilt exoskeleton helps paralyzed student walk

With beads of sweat gathering at his temples, Andrew Ekelem rose up from his wheelchair this spring and did something that seemed impossible.

He balanced himself on a pair of crutches as a mechanical exoskeleton moved his legs forward, carrying him out of his workspace in Vanderbilt University's Olin Hall and into the hallway.

Minutes later, he asked to watch a video of the moment. It was the first time the Ph.D. student had seen himself walk since a snowboarding accident broke his back in 2010.

"Wow," he said softly as a smile spread across his face.

Ekelem, 25, is at the forefront of an innovative project that is taking shape in Professor Michael Goldfarb's lab. He spends several hours a day hovering over his laptop keyboard, honing technology that could make exoskeletons a standard household item for hundreds of thousands of Americans like him who are living with a spinal cord injury.

Goldfarb has spent years developing exoskeletons at Vanderbilt's School of Engineering. The latest model is notable for its portability: It weighs 26 pounds and can break into five pieces that users can assemble themselves.

Wheelchairs are still faster and more convenient for public travel, but walking with the machine could have significant health benefits for people with spinal cord injuries that limit their mobility. The exoskeleton could prevent osteoporosis and skin ulcers and could improve users' circulation and digestion – to say nothing of the potential psychological benefits of standing up and walking.

Among other things, Ekelem is working on the addition of electrodes that transmit electric pulses to the user's leg muscles while the exoskeleton helps them to walk. The electric stimulation would help to keep the muscles active and healthy, he said.

"It's such a new technology and there's nothing really like it," Ekelem said. "There's not much to lose by having better equipment and better exercise capabilities."

The exoskeleton is in clinical trials in five spinal cord rehabilitation centers across the country, and has been licensed by Parker Hannifin Corp. under the name Indego. The company expects Indego to be available for purchase later this year.

Injury drives purpose

Mechanical engineering seems like a natural fit for Ekelem, who built a solar-powered remote control race car for a science fair around the time he turned 13. But it was a catastrophic accident that led him to his current path.

During a 2010 snowboarding trip in Lake Tahoe, Ekelem fell on his back after a 25-foot jump. He was paralyzed from the waist down.

The injury ultimately gave him purpose. Moved by a desire to contribute to a tangible change for people with spinal cord injuries, he completed his bachelor's degree in bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and came to Vanderbilt in 2013 as a Ph.D. student in Goldfarb's lab.

"The expectation of somebody after a spinal cord injury is that they're not going to walk again," Ekelem said. "That just piqued my interest and I thought if I'm going to get a job or whatnot, why not work toward what I want to see get changed one day?"

He pursues that goal with the same resilience he showed as a student athlete in high school. In is downtime, he tinkers in his garage, trying to create a lightweight wheelchair out of carbon fiber.

Goldfarb said it is clear that Ekelem's personal experience drives and informs his work.

"Andrew obviously has a perspective that only somebody with that injury can have," Goldfarb said. "Andrew is a very talented engineer and designer and roboticist. I definitely respect and value that. He also, I think, has a unique motivation."

Ekelem works on the exoskeleton alongside an undergraduate researcher who lives with a more severe form of paralysis.

"In both of their cases they feel like they can be involved in this research and make a difference for other people like them," Goldfarb said. "I'm looking forward to them being able to make that impact."

For all the work ahead, Ekelem was optimistic after his practice session with the exoskeleton. It was the best one so far, he said.

Soon afterward, he was tapping on his keyboard, making tweaks that would make walking easier next time.

"That's progress right there," he said. "I'll have to get back in it and keep practicing."

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.

About the project

Vanderbilt Ph.D. student Andrew Ekelem, who is paralyzed, is working on an exoskeleton that helps people like him walk. The device has been licensed by Parker Hannifin Corp. under the name Indego. The company expects it will be available for purchase later this year.