Bionic leg aids Bob Lobel’s quest to walk freely
by Robert Greim, excerpted from bostonherald.com
Pool workouts, weight training and hobbling around on crutches just wasn’t cutting it. So the 69-year-old sports maestro and his therapists turned to the magic packed into the $40,000 AlterG Bionic Leg.
The battery-operated robotic smart-leg — that wraps around an injured limb (think “RoboCop”) — beeps, buzzes and propels the patient up stairs and down hallways. The company rents out the skintight exoskeleton for $700 to $1,000 a month, depending on hours of use.
“I enjoy using the machine, other than the fact it’s weird and makes sounds; it gives you that feedback, audio feedback, of doing it correctly or not correctly,” Lobel told the Herald as he took a test stroll at the Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital in Westboro.
