????醫(yī)療

????第一款通過(guò)美國(guó)食品及藥品監(jiān)督管理局（FDA）認(rèn)證,，供家庭和社區(qū)使用的外骨骼系統(tǒng)名叫ReWalk，顧名思義,，它的用途是幫助半身不遂者重新站起來(lái)。這款由以色列公司生產(chǎn)的外骨骼裝置,，可以通過(guò)判斷上半身的動(dòng)作來(lái)完成走,、停、坐,、上下臺(tái)階等動(dòng)作,。臨床康復(fù)是它的主要賣(mài)點(diǎn)之一。

????紐約脊椎損傷研究中心（Spinal Cord Damage Research Center）副主任安妮?斯龐根表示,，美國(guó)約有24萬(wàn)人患有脊椎損傷,。在該中心所在地，位于紐約布朗克斯區(qū)的退伍軍人事務(wù)部（Veterans Affairs）里，斯龐根調(diào)查了各種外骨骼助步設(shè)備的使用情況,，其中就包括ReWalk,。退伍軍人事務(wù)部是美國(guó)最大的脊椎損傷病人服務(wù)機(jī)構(gòu)，為大約22,000名脊椎損傷的退伍軍人提供服務(wù)（患有這種疾病的退伍軍人共42,000名）,。

????除了ReWalk之外,，也有一些其它平臺(tái)可以為半身不遂者提供幫助，比如Ekso,、Indego和 REX Bionics等公司的產(chǎn)品,。斯龐根表示：“我的理念是，不拿這些設(shè)備進(jìn)行相互比較,，他們都挺好的,，各有各的優(yōu)勢(shì)。我們需要這一領(lǐng)域不斷向前發(fā)展,，但愿這些制造商都能夠更進(jìn)一步,。”

????第一臺(tái)ReWalk于今年七月被一名患者買(mǎi)回了家,，69,500美元的價(jià)格可著實(shí)不便宜,。ReWalk公司CEO拉里?亞辛斯基表示，他認(rèn)為這種局面短期內(nèi)可能不會(huì)改變,?！拔覀冋J(rèn)為這套系統(tǒng)的定價(jià)是合理的，而且還為保險(xiǎn)業(yè)省了不少成本,?！彼€表示：“如果生產(chǎn)規(guī)模擴(kuò)大，將有助于利潤(rùn)率的提高,，從而有助于我們投入更多研發(fā)費(fèi)用對(duì)它進(jìn)行改進(jìn),，或開(kāi)發(fā)新的應(yīng)用?！保ū局芏?，ReWalk Robotics公司向納斯達(dá)克提交了IPO招股書(shū)，擬上市融資5,000萬(wàn)美元,，該公司的估值也將達(dá)到1.88億美金,。ReWalk在上市文件中批露，截至目前,，該公司已經(jīng)賣(mài)出了81套外骨骼系統(tǒng),。）

????Medical

????The first medical device to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for home and community use by paraplegics is called the ReWalk, an Israeli-made exoskeleton that takes cues from upper body movements to take steps, stop, and sit down. Clinical rehabilitation is one of its major selling points.

????There are something like 240,000 people with spinal cord damage in the U.S., says Anne Spungen, associate director of the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center in New York. Spungen has investigated the uses of exoskeletal walking devices, including the ReWalk, at the Veterans Affairs facility in the Bronx where the center is located. The VA is the largest provider of services to people with spinal cord injury in the United States, serving approximately 22,000 of the 42,000 veterans with the injuries.

????There are several other platforms for paraplegics besides the ReWalk, including the Ekso, Indego, and REX Bionics. “My motto is not to compare these devices to each other. They are all good in some way,” Spungen says. “We need the field to advance. We need them all to come forward.”

????The first patient took a ReWalk home in July. It’s not cheap. The price for one is $69,500, and ReWalk CEO Larry Jasinski says he doesn’t expect that to change anytime soon. “We believe the system pricing is fair and that it is a net cost-saver to the insuring community,” he says. “Scale will help margins which will allow more focus or spending on R&D for improvements and new applications.” (On Tuesday, ReWalk Robotics set the terms for a $50 million IPO on Nasdaq, valuing the company at $188 million. In its filing, it revealed that it has sold 81 systems to date.)