Storyline
A machine that allows the paralyzed to walk again, and textiles that can monitor your vital signs without the need for wires. These were just two of the top health gadgets at this year’s CES tech show in Las Vegas.
When Chloe Angus suffered a spinal injury ten years ago, she was told she would never walk again. And yet, she is. Despite being paralyzed from the waist down, she’s able to stand thanks to the XoMotion exoskeleton by Human in Motion. Angus says it pushes the boundaries of what’s possible for people with disabilities.
“How we differentiate and how we have stepped into the next generation of exoskeletons is that we are a fully independent self-balancing exoskeleton, meaning that we do not need arm crutches or a walker to use the device. You don’t have to have upper body strength. We can accommodate much higher levels of injury and we can also get people into exoskeleton sooner after injury with our device,” says Angus, who is a director of the company.
The XoMotion has been approved for use in Canada as a clinical device and will be available in clinics, hospitals and research labs.
CES, the annual trade show of all things tech, opened on January 7. Formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES brings attendees and exhibitors from around the world.
CES 2024 saw more than 138,000 attendees, according to the CTA, and organizers expected to see at least that amount again for this year’s show. Over 4,500 exhibitors, including 1,400 startups, were anticipated across 2.5 million square feet of floor space.
This article was provided by The Associated Press.
Script
[Chloe Angus, Director, Human in Motion, who is paralyzed from the waist down, standing up with the aid of Xomotion exoskeleton]
[Angus standing in the exoskeleton]
[Angus moving around]
Chloe Angus (interview): “How we differentiate and how we have stepped into the next generation of exoskeletons is that we are a fully independent self-balancing exoskeleton, meaning that we do not need arm crutches or a walker to use the device. You don’t have to have upper body strength. We can accommodate much higher levels of injury and we can also get people into exoskeleton sooner after injury with our device.”
[Angus dancing in the exoskeleton]
Chloe Angus (interview): “But the overall goal of the entire company is to keep working on our development specifically for a personal home use device. So that’s going to be a device that’s going to be used every day by everybody, and that’s going to be a really exciting time because that’s going to be an opportunity to actually replace my wheelchair. And once I get my exoskeleton at home, you won’t find me in my chair anymore. I’m going to be up and moving the way I’m supposed to be. Happy, healthy, going the grocery store. And I can reach the things off the top shelf!”
[Myant’s Skiin Belly Band, a textile-based wearable health monitor that keeps track of fetal and maternal heart rates and other vital signs]
[Model of baby wearing a Skiin fabric health monitor band]
[Tony Chahine, CEO and Founder, Myant Corp., holding base materials of conductive fabrics]
Tony Chahine (interview): “Textile plays a significant role. I don’t have to convince someone to wear some new wearable. They’re already wearing it. And as a result, people keep the textile on their body much longer. So are you able to continue this relationship and you deal with many, many organs and many different data sets. So it’s not just limited to a specific disease because most medtech devices are designed around a specific disease.”
[Man wearing Myant Skiin Gen 2 cuffless blood pressure device]
[Another man monitoring the model’s ECG readouts on app]
Tony Chahine (interview): “Many people with cognitive disorders will be left behind. That same thing will happen if someone is busy at work and they ignore some symptoms. Or maybe at night, many, many events are clinically silent. Or maybe a young baby. So what I see out there, a lot of the devices that we have require human intervention, requires humans to say, you know, I don’t think I’m feeling well. Can you let me know? I don’t believe in that future. I believe in a future where the relationship between you and a doctor and you and AI needs to be conveniently available around you all the time.”
[Frank Han, Digital Media Manager, Speediance, looking at workout program on Gym Monster 2]
Frank Han (interview): “So this is our newest product. It’s called the Gym Monster 2. It’s all in one smart home gym, and it can train all your body parts with this one machine. So it’s very versatile. You can do it at your home. And the footboard can fold up. It’s really compact and it provides up to 100kg resistance. So it’s an all in one machine.”
[Demonstrator doing barbell back squats]
[Monitor showing he is squatting 100 pounds]
Frank Han (interview): “In the future, speaking of A.I., we have an A.I. coach coming up in 2025. It’s basically like a fitness ChatGPT. So you can just ask the A.I. coach anything and it will give you feedback like what you should do for your workout and fitness tips. And you can just ask him, I want to lose 20 pounds and he’ll give you like a whole workout plan. So it’s really great.”
[Demonstrator doing chest fly]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.
