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First, He Went Blind. Later, He Became Paralyzed After He Fell From a Second-Story Window. Now, See Him Walk.
Mark Pollock with his trainer. (Image source: UCLA via Mark Pollock)

First, He Went Blind. Later, He Became Paralyzed After He Fell From a Second-Story Window. Now, See Him Walk.

"A very exciting, emotional moment for me."

In 1998, Matt Pollock lost his eyesight. In 2010, he fell tragically from a second-story window, suffering a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the waist down.

But he was determined to "keep the paralyzed bits in good enough shape that I'd be ready for any innovation that came down the track," he told the Los Angeles Times.

In 2014, that time came.

Pollock worked with researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, to become what is considered the first person with complete paralysis who had regained enough voluntary control assist a robotic mobility device in walking.

Mark Pollock with his trainer raises himself to a standing position. (Image source: UCLA via Mark Pollock)

The robotic exoskeleton, made by Ekso Bionics, is a battery-operated suit that allows the wearer to take steps, controlling their legs, in part, with a noninvasive procedure that involves spinal stimulation.

"In the last few weeks of the trial, my heart rate hit 138 beats per minute," Pollock said in a statement. "This is an aerobic training zone, a rate I haven't even come close to since being paralyzed while walking in the robot alone, without these interventions. That was a very exciting, emotional moment for me, having spent my whole adult life before breaking my back as an athlete."

Watch video of the accomplishment:

Prior to becoming paralyzed, Pollock became the first blind man to race in the South Pole and he has participated in other ultra-endurance races.

UCLA researchers observed Pollock actively assisting the robot in stepping — the robot wasn't doing all the heavy lifting.

"It will be difficult to get people with complete paralysis to walk completely independently, but even if they don't accomplish that, the fact they can assist themselves in walking will greatly improve their overall health and quality of life," senior researcher V. Reggie Edgerton, a UCLA distinguished professor of integrative biology and physiology, neurobiology and neurosurgery, said in a statement.

He added that it will also likely be years before a system like this is widely available for patients with spinal cord injuries, but the hope is that it's coming.

"We think the future in robotics and rehabilitation is that the device will assist but will not completely take over, so the person has to regain some voluntary movement and to assist the device in making voluntary movements," Edgerton told the Los Angeles Times. "The robot will do less and less and the subject will do more and more."

UCLA's research will be published by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. The Los Angeles Times reported

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