‘Exoskeleton’ research holds promise at Georgia Tech
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Moving with an exoskeleton sounds a bit like science fiction, but it’s actually the cutting edge of what’s possible.
Kinsey Herrin, a senior research scientist at Georgia Tech, has worked on the exoskeleton project for years, from infancy to adolescence.
“The ultimate mission is to try to improve walking gaits in kids that have walking impairments stemming from an issue at the knee,” she said.
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That’s where 14-year-old Sebastian Andres Sacerdoti comes into the picture.
“From the beginning, Sebastian has been working with us,” Herrin said.
Each time Sebastian enters the lab, he dons the exoskeleton on his left leg.
“A robot machine. I guess that’s how I’d put it,” he said.
“Sebastian had a brain tumor when he was a year-and-a-half, and one of the secondary effects of the tumor was weakness on the left side,” said his mother, Maria Gabriela Busato.
The exoskeleton monitors Sebastian’s movements and, using cameras and a computer game, works to retrain them in a way that’s better for his legs.
“His knee kicks back slightly when he walks,” Herrin said.
The project is a collaboration with the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Sebastian’s movements in the lab help scientists learn what works with the exoskeleton and what doesn’t. That information is then used to improve the device.
“It’s good,” Sebastian said of using the device over the years. “I think it’s a little easier.”
And although practical use is still years away, the science is now many steps closer to walking a straight path.
“We want to eventually take this technology and move it out of the lab,” Herrin said,
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