This March 2023 announcement marked an important practical milestone in spinal cord injury mobility technology. ReWalk Personal Exoskeleton received FDA clearance for use on stairs and curbs in the United States, making it the first personal exoskeleton approved for these real-world environments.
Paralyzed individuals with spinal cord injury will have unprecedented access to walking in everyday environments as they are no longer limited when encountering stairs and curbs
For people living with SCI, exoskeleton systems had already shown promise in rehabilitation centers, but everyday usability remained limited. Many devices were primarily approved for flat indoor surfaces, restricting independence outside structured settings. This FDA clearance addressed one of the biggest barriers: navigating typical community obstacles such as steps, curbs, and uneven transitions.
The March announcement signaled a move beyond laboratory success and into daily-life mobility. ReWalk emphasized that users could access more homes, sidewalks, and public spaces with greater confidence. For many people with thoracic-level SCI, that expanded practical access matters as much as raw walking ability.
Beyond mobility, exoskeleton use has also been associated with secondary health benefits including improved circulation, reduced sedentary time, potential bone-loading benefits, and psychological gains from upright movement and eye-level interaction.
The broader importance of this article lies in what it represented for the SCI field in 2023: progress not only toward biological repair, but toward immediately usable technology that can improve independence now. While regenerative therapies continue developing, assistive robotics like ReWalk were already becoming more capable and more integrated into daily life.
ReWalk Media Relations:
John Tomlin
E: media@rewalk.com
ReWalk Investor Contact:
Mike Lawless
Chief Financial Officer
ReWalk Robotics Ltd
T:Â +1 508-281-7274
E:Â investorrelations@rewalk.com
