PREVIEW

Jane Fryer thought she’d never walk unaided again after being diagnosed with bone cancer - until her husband built her a first-of-its-kind exoskeleton in his garage.


In 2016, Jane, from Colyford in Devon, was told she had a chondrosarcoma in her right hip and pelvis. An operation saved her life but she was told she would never walk again without the use of crutches.


She explains: “Shock is probably the easiest way to sum up our feelings at that moment. To add to our dismay we were told that there was to be no implant, no prosthesis. Nothing was to be put in its place…Nothing. The surgeon was however confident of the outcomes of the operation but it meant a guaranteed future of wheelchairs and two crutches.”
Her husband, retiree Paul Fryer had no engineering background when his wife became ill but taught himself rudimentary computer aided design and spoke to experts in prosthetics and physiotherapy.


Taking inspiration from his wife and using the skills he learnt, he built the exoskeleton using advanced carbon fibre, utilising Computer Aided Design (CAD), 3D scanning and specialist 3D printing in metal to complete his finished design.


After three years of development and work, Jane is now able to walk without the aid of supports.


“With the help of this new exoskeleton Jane is able to walk and exercise in a totally new way,” Paul explains. “She has regularly walked over a mile with one crutch and just recently learnt to walk unaided - with no crutches!”


She adds: “One crutch walking is now easy and surprisingly comfortable. Stairs, they were my nemesis but now I approach them with confidence. Standing was an activity I could only tolerate for about 10 minutes, now standing for hours is easy. And yet ... it is still just a prototype. These are very early days on an exciting journey of development and discovery.”


The retired computer sales and marketing man believes the exoskeleton is unique as all others rely on their users’ own human skeleton to support their body weight. Their exoskeletons are machines that move a users’ body.


However, Jane’s exoskeleton is a ‘real external skeleton’ in that it is replacing the missing human skeleton and is, therefore fully weight bearing. The new exoskeleton is totally ‘human powered’ - so it has no batteries, motors or sensors.


Paul adds: “The exoskeleton has been demonstrated to world class orthopaedic surgeons both in the UK and in Germany, all of whom have been amazed as to how well it works.”


Jane’s story has even gone transatlantic recently posted her story about her exoskeleton on a forum hosted by the Mayo Clinic in America where Jane received many positive including one which simply said, “Thank you for giving us hope!”


Although many people undergo hip replacement surgery, this does not always work as an implant can develop an infection and in some cases will require a permanent removal.


In the UK alone approximately 80,000 hip replacements are performed each year, with 450,000 taking place in the U.S. Failure rates are in the region of 10% - some of whom will not be able to receive a replacement.


Paul and Jane now have a patent pending on the Xothotics Full Body Exoskeleton System - and are hoping to find a way of developing and producing their invention, so more people in her position can walk again. They are now looking for partners for clinical trials.

"We know it works for Jane but it would be such a pity if nobody else was to benefit from it - but it will be classed as a medical device and will be subject to all the rules and approvals that are there to protect us all," Paul adds.

“We need to know it is safe and we really need those in research and academia who can fund and undertake research and clinical trials to get involved and help move it forwards. I am not in a position to run clinical trials from my garage.”