VIDEO: Northside student on exoskeleton mission

A NORTHSIDE student was the driving force in introducing new hi-tech equipment that could help disabled wheelchair users walk again to DCU earlier this month.

Niamh Ni Ruairi from Beaumont helped convince Helpful Steps founder Nathan Kirwan to bring one of the only exoskeletons in Ireland to the Glasnevin university.

Exoskeletons were originally designed for army use to help soldiers carry heavy loads in combat but they’re now being used by people who are unable to walk through illness or injury.

Ni Ruairi suffers from a rare autoimmune disease called histiocytosis, which mistakenly attacks a person’s immune cells rather than help the body fight infections.

After being diagnosed with the condition at birth, Ni Ruairi was provisionally cleared of the disease at the age of three, but after 12 successful years in remission, the disease returned when she was 15 and she has not been able to walk since.

Last year she visited Elite Training in Cork to use the Ekso GT to walk again after Kirwan told her about the exoskeleton his Helpful Steps charity had purchased.

After successfully walking for the first time since being re-diagnosed, Ni Ruairi took it upon herself to arrange for the exoskeleton to be brought to DCU.

“I first heard about the suit in 2014 when they were holding trials in Dublin but I wasn’t able to use the exoskeleton because my hamstrings were too tight,” Ni Ruairi told Northside People.

“When I did get to use the suit it was a strange feeling because you’re using muscles that aren’t used to moving, so you’re a bit sore, but you deal with the pain because you’re walking again.

“I’ve had a few meetings with DCU about getting one but, long story short, they said they can’t fund one at the minute. I’m still hoping this demonstration will help change their minds and they can see how much of a positive impact it has on people who need them.”

The Ekso GT which is designed by American bionic developers Ekso Bionics.

The suit costs €150,000 to purchase with a four year guarantee and the option to swap out suits after that time frame.

There are currently only three suits in Ireland with only two available to the public, one in Cork and one in Antrim.

It means that wheelchair users in Dublin will have to roughly travel over two hours at least to have some semblance of walking again, and it’s something that Ni Ruairi, and DCU guest lecturer and exoskeleton user John Byrne would like to see rectified.

“These things are becoming so popular, particularly with soldiers coming back [with war injuries], men and women who are in their early 20s, they have 50 years left and if you can’t get people to move a bit the costs go up,” said Byrne.

“Countries and organisations that can look at this thing from a longer term perspective understand the benefits.

“I don’t think necessarily we’re at that point in this country yet.

“Antrim would be a two hour drive, Cork would be a three and a half hour drive from where I live in Drogheda. But DCU is just 40 minutes away.”

Ni Ruairi will look to meet with DCU President Brian MacCraith in the coming weeks to continue talks about acquiring an exoskeleton for the college and its wheelchair users. 

REPORT: Jack O’Toole