Spanish scientist invents 'bionic legs' so disabled children can walk

Daniela, 12, from Madrid, was left tetraplegic in a car accident when she was a baby, but has now just walked for the first time thanks to the pioneering Atlas 2020.

The 'robot legs' are referred to as an 'exo-skeleton', and are effectively frames that encase the child's own legs.

They are powered by several small engines which 'walk' on the child's behalf.

Dr Elena García, an industrial engineer at Spain's national science institute – the CSIC – had been working on prototypes to prevent injuries to industrial workers whose jobs involved lifting heavy weights.

Her research involved developing machines which helped control workers' balance in movement over obstacles and uneven ground.

But when Dr García met Daniela and her parents Carmen and Pablo, she changed the course of her research and came up with a bionic exo-skeleton which allowed the youngster to stand.

Elena was contacted by a flood of medics wanting to find out how they could get their hands on one of her inventions, saying it would not only improve quality of life for the approximately 120,000 children in Spain with serious mobility difficulties, but would also extend their life expectancy as they would be less at risk of health problems which come with not moving, such as thrombosis and poor circulation.

She set up the company Marsi Bionics, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign to amass the €150,000 she needs to get started.

A further €1 million from investors will allow her to mass-produce the Atlas 2020 and get paralysed children walking again.

To comply with legislation, the Atlas 2020 still has to go through procedures such as risk analysis, health and safety checks and market tests, and to obtain the required kitemarks – a process that will see it undergo exhaustive examination over next year at the Sant Joan de Déu hospital in Barcelona, one of Spain's top centres for treating neurological and neuromuscular conditions, and at Madrid's Ramón y Cajal hospital, with at least one child aged three to nine acting voluntarily as a 'guinea pig'.

Although two other types of exo-skeleton are already in mass production – the Exolegs and Rewalk – both are designed for adults and carry just two engines, which move the hips and knees.

They need the wearer to have control over the top halves of their bodies to be able to walk on crutches.

But the Atlas 2020 is built for children and is suitable for those completely paralysed, with up to five engines per leg.

Wearers would be able to get up, sit down, walk, turn and control their own balance with an Atlas 2020.

Dr García's plan involves a series of 10 prototypes costing €50,000 each, which adapt to the child's body as he or she grows, and which run from batteries which can last up to half a day once charged.

A spare battery is supplied and apparatus gives warnings 30 minutes before it runs down.

Daniela, who is now five feet tall, will grow out of the Atlas 2020 very shortly, but as the existing adult versions are far less supportive, Dr García is working on a customised larger model of her own invention.