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At first glance, one might think that it is one of those motorized scooters type machines which flourish every day in public spaces. In fact, “Wewalk” is an exoskeleton intended for children from 4 years old who cannot move because of neuro-muscular disorders such as myopathies. For the past two years, Rami Haidar has been carrying out solitary and intensive work to develop this prototype which he entirely designed with his own hands, except the engine, and on his own funds. Through his profession as an orthoprosthetist, where 80% of his patients are children, Rami Haidar has been confronted with the distress of children with disabilities, corseted on all sides and unable to move quickly and well. While equipment for adults evolves and improves, that for children tends to stagnate. ” However, mobility is fundamental for the child because he is growing. His physical condition may improve. Mobility reduces joint stiffness, the risk of muscle atrophy, bedsores, obesity … It is a complementary job to that of the physiotherapist and the general condition of the child can be improved.. After twenty prototypes tested, three patents filed, and periods of doubts and dead ends, the Wewalk exoskeleton is finally emerging. Playful, ” like a toy“, The equipment can support up to 100 kilos and does not reflect the image of disability. It is composed, among other things, of a tailor-made saddle in which the child will position himself to be well maintained, and of a crankset on which the child’s shoes will be fixed to a shell and which allows to reproduce the movements of walking.
The decisive phase of the clinical study
Wewalk will be adapted to the pathology of the child who will be able to “pilot” it via a control lever, a joystick or a movement of the chest, depending on his state of health. Equipped with two motors and a battery with an autonomy of 3 hours, Wewalk will be prescribed by specialist doctors and available from orthoprosthetists. But before getting there, the fifty-something will still have to be patient. Because once the prototype is in place, it is now a matter of going through the clinical study phase, which lasts at least one year. ” The Lille University Hospital will analyze the relevance of the device by testing it on several children. An expensive clinical study that Rami Haidar will have to finance by seeking funds. For this, he will create his company in order to obtain an honor loan and financing from the BPI. At the same time, he will file a dossier to obtain CE standards in order to be able to market Wewalk. If the clinical study proves conclusive, the orthoprosthetist can then request reimbursement from Social Security, in order to help the families concerned to equip themselves with Wewalk. This revolutionary device could be marketed from September 2022 and is already a beacon of hope for many families. P.B.
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