Berlin-based robotics and wearable tech specialist German Bionic is back in Las Vegas in 2024 with its latest e-exoskeleton, the Apogee+ power suit. The device is specifically developed to provide dynamic support for healthcare professionals including frontline workers in hospitals, geriatric wards, or rehabilitation clinics.
It follows the launch of its industrial counterpart, the Apogee exoskeleton, at CES 2023.
Specifically made to support caregivers during their work on the ward, the Apogee+ powered exosuit was developed based on the latest advancements in nursing care research and in close cooperation with leading healthcare institutions such as Germany’s renowned Charité Hospital in Berlin. Now, the Apogee+ will be showcased for the first time in North America on the occasion of CES 2024. Its technology improves the safety and well-being of nursing and other care professionals, give them with up to 66 pounds (30 kg) of back relief per lifting movement to alleviate patient mobilization tasks such as transferring patients between beds and wheelchairs, aiding in medical examinations, facilitating washing and changing procedures, repositioning immobile patients, or assisting in assuming more comfortable or upright positions. Caregivers also often find themselves needing to attend to patients in awkward and unergonomic forward-bending postures. In such cases, the Apogee+ gives support to the back with its counterforce mode.
The Apogee+ combines the social intelligence of humans with the power of robotic support. In terms of patient safety, the smart German Bionic exosuit is also clearly distinguished from passive exoskeleton systems that usually have exposed mechanical parts. The Apogee+ features a unique closed design and special patient grips, ensuring full protection against pinching, crushing, and other potential physical risks. It stands as the only genuinely patient-safe device of its kind.
In a sector that is acutely grappling with the labor shortage crisis, the Apogee+ also serves as a testament to the value a care facility’s places on its workforce. This helps enhance the overall appeal of nursing as a profession, thereby significantly supporting efforts to attract and recruit both young and qualified talents as well as retaining the best, motivated employees.
Besides the new Apogee+ for healthcare, German Bionic will also take its exoskeleton for industry to Las Vegas in January. Launched at CES 2023, the rugged IP54-protected Apogee power suit has firmly established itself at the standard for protecting the lower back of workers in areas including logistics, warehousing, construction, maintenance, and manufacturing – or in other jobs where heavy lifting is regularly conducted. The German Bionic exoskeletons are in daily use at global logistics companies including DPD, Dachser, or Fiege, large retailers like Canadian Tire and British CE specialist Currys as well as at several major international airports and in hospitals.
