Incredible moment paralysed tennis player Keontae Clark WALKS with help of futuristic $100,000 robot exoskeleton
THIS is the incredible moment a paralysed tennis player WALKED with the help of a futuristic $100,000 robot exoskeleton suit.
Keontae Clark, 26, spent more than 13 years of her life in a wheelchair after a horror car accident and had several of her organs removed.
But Keontae is turning her life around as she’s been practising her walk with the device over the past four months.
In a heartwarming video, the athlete can be seen getting her steps in at the gym, also using a couple of crutches for better stability.
She is accompanied by a trainer, who slowly walks behind her holding the back of the exoskeleton.
As she walks around the gym, Keontae shared how she got her injury and explained the long and tough recovery over the last years.
The tennis player then revealed she was “very shaky” at first with the robot suit, but is now making good progress.
She said: “It’s going well. In the beginning I wasn’t too sturdy. I was very shaky. But as time has gone on, I became more confident.
“To just be able to get up and walk like I used to is an amazing feeling.”
The clip goes on to show Keontae taking her practice outside in the carpark.
There, she managed to take a step down from the sidewalk and onto the road – a step seemingly easy to many but quite challenging for those with motor impairment.
The 26-year-old revealed she’s been getting her muscle memory back thanks to the exercises.
She told US outlet KRON4: “I can take steps, I can go up and down the stairs, a curb, that kind of thing.”
Keontae, from San Francisco in the US, said she does not pay anything for the $100,000 suit thanks to her health insurance.
She was also due to carry the Olympic torch before the Paris 2024 opening ceremony on Friday.
Keontae suffered a car accident in 2011 that changed her life, requiring a month-long hospital stay.
Her pancreas, spleen, and kidney were among the organs removed from her body as a result of blunt force trauma.
Keontae has since been living with a T10 injury — a serious spinal cord damage that left her paralysed from the waist down.
“Something to get used to, for sure… It was a long process, and I’m still dealing with it to this day,” she told KRON4.
In the thirteen years that followed and after multiple attempts at physical therapy, Clark eventually found that her preferred means of mobility was a walker and metal braces.
She said: “Have you ever seen the movie Forrest Gump? Yeah, so basically, I had something very similar to what he had.”
Keontae got to take her exoskeleton suit home for the first time last Monday.
She said: “This is really big for a lot of people, man. This helps people gain confidence and self-esteem.
“People just feel better about themselves. I know I do. I mean, just being able to stand up after so long.”
She went on to say it was the perfect birthday gift as it’s coming up on July 28.
She continued: “This is actually a perfect birthday present.
“I’m just in bliss. I’m proud of myself, too. For just having the will to do it.
“I had to think about it because I try not to boast, you know. But if it weren’t for my efforts, I wouldn’t have been anywhere”
What is an exoskeleton & how does it work?
AN EXOSKELETON is a wearable device designed to enhance human strength, endurance, and mobility.
It consists of a rigid frame, actuators for movement, sensors to detect user actions, a control system to process data, and a power source.
How does it work?
The device works by detecting the user’s movements, processing this information, and actuating the exoskeleton to assist or amplify these movements in real-time.
Its sensors will monitor the user’s movements so that microcontrollers can interpret data and calculate the necessary assistance.
Actuators (powered by motors, pneumatics, or hydraulics) then move in sync with the user to provide support or amplification.
How can it be used?
Exoskeletons are used in medical rehabilitation, industrial settings, military operations, and are emerging in consumer applications to improve mobility and reduce physical strain.
It helps patients with mobility impairments regain strength and movement and assists worker with heavy lifting and repetitive tasks, reducing injury risk.
An exoskeleton can also enhance soldiers’ strength and endurance, enabling them to carry heavier loads.
And in general assistance, it can help elderly or mobility-impaired individuals in their daily activities.