Today’s guest blog post comes from Joseph Hill. Joseph writes on behalf of Pannone Personal Injury documenting research into disability and assistive technology. A team of engineers at Vanderbilt University have developed an exoskeleton which gives people who suffer from paraplegia or have suffered severe spinal cord injuries, the ability to walk again. Brian Shaffer, who is paralyzed from the waist down, testing the Vanderbilt exoskeleton at Shepherd Center’s satellite facility in Franklin, Tenn. (Joe Howell/Vanderbilt University) The device was developed by Professor of Medicine and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University, Michael Goldfarb. The exoskeleton provides its users with a degree of independence which can’t be met with a standard wheel chair. Its lightweight and compact size enables the paraplegic to stand, sit, walk and climb stairs, things that some of us may take for granted at times. The device acts as an external skeleton and securely straps around waist and then ridged supports are strapped above and below the knee. The hip and knee joints are controlled by electric motors which are powered by advanced batteries. The patient is also advised to use forearm crutches with the device to establish balance when moving. Brain Shaffer suffered a car accident around Christmas 2010 [...]