ReStore Soft Exo-Suit for gait rehabilitation

The technology described in this briefing is the ReStore Soft Exo‑Suit. It is a powered exosuit worn by adults who are having gait rehabilitation to relearn to walk after a stroke or brain injury.

The innovative aspects are that the real-time data from sensors in the shoes and on the affected leg are used to adjust the mechanical assistance to match the user's natural gait and to enhance propulsion symmetry.

The intended place in therapy would be in rehabilitation clinics, in addition to standard care, for people who are having physiotherapy after a stroke or brain injury that has affected the movement in one of their legs.

The main points from the evidence summarised in this briefing are from 3 non-comparative feasibility and safety studies, including a total of 53 adults recovering from stroke, in physiotherapy clinics in the US. They show that while wearing ReStore some gait metrics were improved.

Key uncertainties around the evidence are that it is at an early stage in evidence generation and there is currently no comparative evidence or studies showing the long-term impact on gait rehabilitation outcomes. Two of the studies used early versions of ReStore, and so may not reflect outcomes from the current version.

The cost of ReStore is £22,995 per unit (excluding VAT) with around £4,000 per year in consumables (when used by 10 patients per month and both cartridges are replaced yearly). As an add-on intervention, the resource impact would be greater than standard care.