Monday, October 26, 2026 · Daily editionET --:--:--

MedicalPowered walking leg braces

Medical exoskeletons

by Lifeward (ReWalk), Wandercraft, Ekso Bionics (owned by Wandercraft since Oct 2026)

Medical exoskeletons are motorised braces worn on the legs and body. They help people who cannot walk, for example after a spinal cord injury or a stroke, to stand and walk. Most are used in rehab clinics; a few are cleared for use at home. Federal Register (FDA), 24 Feb 2015

5

Stage 5 of 5

Regulator-cleared or mass market

Which rule placed it
Evidence
Independently reported
Human help
Safety monitor aboard
Last milestone
1 Oct 2026

01Can I get it?

Yes, in places

Where it works today
In rehab centres around the world (Wandercraft says more than 700 use its Atalante X or EksoNR), and on prescription for home use in the US (ReWalk Personal, Indego Personal, Wandercraft Eve). Wandercraft press release via Yahoo Finance, 1 Oct 2026
Published price
Medicare set a payment rate of $91,032 for a personal exoskeleton such as ReWalk Personal or Indego Personal as of April 2024 Exoskeleton Report, 12 Apr 2024
Human help
Personal exoskeletons must be used with a specially trained companion watching over the user. In clinics a physical therapist supervises. Exoskeleton Report, 11 Aug 2026

02Track record

What has actually happened

Every milestone is dated and links to the page it comes from. Lines marked company-reported rest on the maker's own word.

03Safety and incidents

What has gone wrong

  • The FDA sent a warning letter to ReWalk's maker for not running a follow-up safety study it had ordered after clearance. The FDA said a failure to prevent a fall could seriously injure or kill the user. RAPS, 1 Mar 2016

In clinical trials

68 registered trials

7 looking for volunteers. From ClinicalTrials.gov, read every day.

All 68 trials

How we placed it

The rule, not an opinion

Stages are worked out by published rules from the dated milestones above. We never rate robots, and no maker can pay to change a stage.

  1. 5

    Regulator-cleared or mass marketThis robot

    A regulator has cleared it where approval applies: FDA clearance or approval for a medical robot, a permit to run with no one aboard for a self-driving vehicle, or an FAA approval for routine drone flights. Or: Widely sold: sales in the hundreds of thousands, or a product category you can buy in ordinary shops.

    Placed by: Wandercraft said the FDA cleared Eve, a self-balancing exoskeleton for personal use, for adults with spinal cord injuries at any level, used with a trained companion (11 Aug 2026); The FDA cleared the ReWalk 7 Personal Exoskeleton from Lifeward (510(k) K241822) for indoor and outdoor walking, including stairs and curbs (12 March 2025).

  2. 4

    Paying customers

    Delivered to customers who pay for it, beyond a trial, or a paid service the public can use.

  3. 3

    Pilot

    Working with a named customer in a real setting, as a trial.

  4. 2

    Pre-orders

    Orders, reservations or deposits taken, with nothing delivered yet.

  5. 1

    Demo only

    Shown in videos, staged events or a factory, with no units working for customers.

What we couldn't confirm. The FDA's adverse-event and recall pages for powered exoskeletons (product code PHL) would not open, so recalls and injury reports are unchecked. Clearance dates for Wandercraft's Atalante and the FDA record number for Eve were not confirmed. Other cleared makers (Cyberdyne HAL, Honda, Samsung, Ottobock) are not covered here.