Angel-Legs M20®

Published by Daniel at April 1, 2023

Exoskeleton robot that assists patients with partial or complete lower extremity paralysis by providing realistic gait training on real-world terrain...

Angel Robotics® - Angel-Legs M20® A gait training robot for patients with incomplete or complete lower extremity paralysis

Angel-Legs M20-A/B is a robot that helps patients with complete or incomplete lower extremity paralysis and provides accurate gait training on real ground. Angel Robotics (Angel Robotics Co., Ltd., Seongdong-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea) is a research and development company dedicated to developing innovative products to help everyone who needs physical assistance for a better quality of life.(1)

Angel Robotics was founded in 2017, and since then, it has been developing a great variety of exoskeletons to assist patients with incomplete or complete lower extremity paralysis, or LEP. Some of the products are Angel Legs M20-A (for children), Angel Legs M20-B (for adults), Angel Suit (for incomplete LEP), WalkON Suit (for complete paralysis), and ACC (for suspension walker). Cybathlon is an international competition and the world’s first international Olympic Games combining robots and paraplegics. Angel Robotics won gold and bronze medals in the powered exoskeleton race in 2020.(2)

The Angel Legs M20 are wearable gait training robots that help rehabilitate and treat lower extremity muscles and restore joint movement. The sensory outsole modules detect the wearer’s intention to walk and provide assistive force according to the detected intention. Other features are a customized brace for multiple wearers, an application on a tablet where the therapist can select various training modules, and motion data analysis. The differences between A and B are the size and product weight. (1,2,)

There is a case report (Kim et al., 2021) of a patient with Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder presenting as gait impairment with restricted mobility and a decreased quality of life. This case report examined the effectiveness of robotic gait training in SCA with an 8-week training program. After the program, overall improvements were found in scales measuring balance, gait function, and cardiopulmonary function.

Another case report (Kim et al., 2021) examined the impact of robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) with a wearable exoskeleton on three children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP). After training, all three subjects improved in gross motor function, and two improved in spatiotemporal parameter assessments. They also improved their walking speed and distance. RAGT has been shown to improve gross motor function, walking speed, gait endurance, and efficiency in children with cerebral palsy.(4) There is still more research to be done with other gait disorders, but for now, its applications have shown to be promising.(3)