Out of those dreams for a better outcome was born the Xothotics Full Body Exoskeleton System
It is a full body weight offloading carbon fibre based exoskeleton system that allows me to walk with just one crutch.
It allows me to stand for hours comfortably and maybe, just maybe, I might be able to walk with no crutches!
Colin Powell
Our unique exoskeleton has been making the news recently.
In 2016, Jane Fryer was told she needed her right hip and half her pelvis removed due to bone cancer. The operation saved her life but surgeons told her she would never walk again without the aid of crutches. So her husband Paul set to work, designing the exoskeleton in their garage...
A couple have invented a revolutionary walking device. Jane Fryer thought she’d never walk unaided again after being diagnosed with bone cancer – until her husband built her a first-of-its-kind exoskeleton in his garage...
A Devon man has invented the world's first exoskeleton to allow his wife to walk again after having cancer surgery. Jane Fryer thought she would spend the rest of her life on crutches after half her pelvis and the top of her femur were removed...
A wife who was told she would never walk without crutches again is now back on her feet thanks to a unique exoskeleton built by her husband. When Jane Fryer was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2016, she was told she would need to have her right hip and half her pelvis removed...
A woman is learning to walk again with the aid of an "exoskeleton" built by her husband after he taught himself the basics of computer aided design..
Seven Years ago: Cancer was the word that stood out as our General Practitioner outlined the results of my recent tests. The next weeks passed in a blur of appointments with specialists and hospitals, culminating in an appointment which my husband and I will never forget. The surgeon told us that the ONLY treatment available was an internal hemipelvectomy involving cutting out all of the diseased bone with wide margins. That meant removal of the head of the femur of my right leg, and all of the pelvic bone structure on the right hand side.
Shock is probably the easiest way to sum up our feelings at that moment. To add to our dismay we were told that there was to be no implant, no prosthesis. Nothing was to be put in its place…Nothing. The surgeon was however confident of the outcomes of the operation but it meant a guaranteed future of wheelchairs and two crutches.
After 4 years of extensive rehabilitation, and my life getting to a ‘new normal’ with two crutches, my husband Paul and I decided that there had to be a solution.
Surely someone had tackled this before, and so we started our quest to find a way that we could get down to one crutch at least. For those who have had to use two crutches permanently, you will know carrying anything is extremely difficult and to go to just one crutch would be a major improvement .
We approached experts in the world of prosthetics and orthotics, we met with Research and Development departments of major companies and even commissioned a top group of prosthetists and orthotists to have a go at creating a viable solution.
They all said that they did not have a solution and knew of nothing that would work.
Dalai Lama
The Covid pandemic created a chance to pause, to think, to reflect and a chance to set a goal.
Could we create a support system ourselves that would allow me to walk with just one crutch? What form would it take ? How long would it take to develop? Would it even work? Could we make it ? Why could we succeed when others have failed?
What was very clear was that we would have to do almost everything ourselves, from the initial concepts, to design, to building and testing!
Literally months were spent researching on-line, learning about topics far outside of our skill set or comfort zone. 3D Scanning, Photogrammetry, Computer Aided Design, Stress Analysis, Surface Modelling, 3D Printing and Carbon Fibre Construction, to name but a few! Multiple prototypes were made, tested and inevitably failed. Slowly key elements of the design came together to create an exoskeleton full body weight off loading brace. Then it was test, redesign and test again.
Bob Procter
Mike Patey
Refinement of the designs over many months resulted in a complete exoskeleton system capable of capturing my upper body weight, transferring my weight via the custom built multi joint hip hinge to a custom built leg orthoses incorporating a sophisticated ankle joint interface with suspension.
Finally …It works! - exactly as we had hoped for me and my internal hemipelvectomy
The Xothotics Full Body Exoskeleton System (Patent Pending) had been created. One crutch walking is now easy and surprisingly comfortable. Stairs, they were my nemesis but now I approach them with confidence. Standing was an activity I could only tolerate for about 10 minutes, now standing for hours is easy. And yet ... it is still just a prototype. These are very early days on an exciting journey of development and discovery.
What else is possible? Who else might benefit? What other conditions could be alleviated?
Tony Robbins