Sanmina and Rewalk / Argo Medical Technologies Demonstrate New Exoskeleton Technology at Compamed

On Thursday, USA-based Sanmina Corporation, a leading integrated manufacturing solutions company, and ReWalk / ARGO Medical Technologies, a developer of advanced medical devices for people with spinal cord injuries, demonstrated the ReWalk (trademarked) exoskeleton technology at Compamed from booth 8b/H12.

The ReWalk works by attaching motorized legs to power knee and hip movement. It controls movement with on-board computers and motion sensors that detect subtle changes in the center of gravity to initiate walking. A forward tilt of the upper body is sensed by the system, which triggers the first step. Repeated body shifting generates a sequence of steps, which allows self-initiated, natural and efficient walking. The ReWalk also sits, stands, allows turning and has the ability to climb and descend stairs. Potential health benefits may include effects on bone density, decrease in body fat, improved cardiorespiratory/bowel/bladder function, and decreased pain and spasticity.

“We are pleased to partner with ARGO to help bring these truly beneficial medical products to market,” said Robert O’Rourke, Senior Vice President, European Sales of Sanmina. “Bringing complex products like ReWalk to market reliably and cost-effectively is challenging. The partnership with Sanmina has allowed ARGO to focus their resources on designing new products while leveraging our 20 years of manufacturing expertise in the medical device industry.”  

“Our goal is to provide the ReWalk technology to paralyzed individuals worldwide. The collaboration with Sanmina is enabling our expansion with a very reliable, high quality product. It is a very meaningful part of our success,” said Larry Jasinski, CEO of ARGO Medical Technologies. “Sanmina’s expertise in supply chain management, prototyping and launching medical products is also a key factor in helping reduce our time to market.”