Not Sure if the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton is for You? Learn more about our Virtual Screening Process!

The First Step

…to trialing the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton is to do some research about the product to determine if you think it is something you could incorporate into your life -use our list of resources at the bottom of the post to help get yourself familiarized.

Once you feel educated and excited for a life changing challenge (!) – next up would be contacting us at this link. Once we receive your information you will speak with one of our Business Development Managers and/or Clinical Specialists. If they feel that you may be appropriate for a trial, you will be put in touch with one of our Clinical Training Managers (who are all PTs) to connect via a video call (typically on Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp) for a virtual screening.

What to Expect During a Virtual Screening

While it is not quite the same as being in person, the goal is to get a general idea of your current status – both physically and functionally – so that we can provide tips and tricks to help prepare you to have the best experience if and when you do walk in the exoskeleton. It is very helpful to have another person to hold the phone/tablet/computer camera and to possibly help with positioning, if needed. The approximate time for a call is about 30 – 45min.

Before going in for a trial, we want to make sure you are ready for it!

This video evaluation will begin with a brief conversation to chat about:

your injury,
initial and current rehab,
general health history related to SCI,
motivations/goals for using the ReWalk,
current activity level,
some quick mobility assessments.

We perform this over video, as seeing you on camera will give us some idea about your transfers, leg and shoulder range of motion, trunk stability, and similar actions that we would normally assess during an in-person PT evaluation/session. During the call, we will ask you to:

move from your wheelchair to bed (or firm sofa is okay, too) while somebody else is holding the phone/camera.
From there we will assess seated balance/trunk stability seated at the edge of your bed;
then we will ask you to lay flat on your bed and bring a single knee to your chest (using your arms is fine!) in order to assess the opposite hip’s flexibility.
We will instruct you in additional movements to view your hip, knee, and ankle ranges of motion.

From this virtual screening, we will be able to identify any safety concerns and determine your general appropriateness to do a walking trial in the ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton. If you are not appropriate at this time, we will explain our reasons for concern, provide recommendations for specific stretches and exercises to ask your therapist about incorporating into your current routine, and potentially other information to give to your therapist so that they can assist in getting you ReWalk-trial-ready.

Lastly- if you received a green light from the Clinical Team, we will provide information about what to expect on the day of your ReWalk trial – this is a great time for you to ask us any questions as well, I’m sure you will have a few!