Above: The ReWalk exoskeleton features a wrist-worn remote control to assist the user in sitting, standing and walking using knee and hip motors and a programmed stepping algorithm. Right: DAV life member and Air Force veteran Harry Hillen Jr. demonstrates how the ReWalk exoskeleton works. Hillen is a part of a VA-funded clinical trial to determine if individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) can use the device to fight off many of the secondary adverse medical conditions a SCI can produce. Gulf War. More recently, it has been reported that more than 1 in 10 wounded Iraq and Afghanistan combatants have sustained an SCI. Presently, spine-related disabling conditions account for 14% of medical discharges from wartime military service. “When people have a spinal cord injury, it’s not just the ability to move their limbs that is impacted,” said Dr. Kristi Henzel, who oversees the study at the Cleveland VA Medical Center. “The brain stem, the brain and the spinal cord control all of the body’s organs, so there are a lot of other things that can become dysfunctional from an SCI. These additional complications all have a negative impact on the patient’s longevity.” The study is available to eligible veterans with SCI who pass the screening criteria. The targeted enrollment is 160 veteran participants across 15 different VA medical centers. Half the veteran participants will use the exoskeletons, and their progress will be measured against the other 80 participants who will use wheelchairs. For initial safety reasons, the veterans using the exoskeletons require a trained companion in order to use the devices at home. “The veterans in the study group take the device home for 16 weeks, and during that time, they use the device as little or as much as they want,” Henzel said. “The goal DAV | @DAVHQ | DAVHQ | of the study is to help figure out how people are using it, how much using the device changes their quality of life and their activity level.” In 1993, DAV life member Harry Hillen Jr. was medically discharged from the Air Force as a result of his wartime service. In 2008, he was celebrating his third wedding anniversary and the birth of his second child when his future as a husband and a father was threatened by the discovery of a cancerous tumor on his spinal cord. “I had a lot to live for, but you never know what could happen to you at that point,” said Hillen, who is a member of DAV Chapter 58 in Hopwood, Pa. “It was pretty much a 50-50 chance if I was going to walk again, or even wake up from the surgery.” Hillen successfully had the tumor removed, but it returned in 2011. He again had it removed and is now cancer-free and participating in the study. DAVETERANS | DISABLEDVETERANS 9 COMPANY/DAVHQ |