German Bionic’s latest exoskeleton helps healthcare workers lift elderly patients

German Bionic, the robot exoskeleton startup behind the lightweight Apogee exosuit, just revealed the Apogee+, a hardware refresh intended to service health care workers. The powered exoskeleton allows nurses and other health care professionals to have greater access to patients, particularly the elderly and the infirm. The company hopes to decrease the “immense levels of stress endured” by these medical professionals.

To that end, the Apogee+ is designed as a “personal lift assistant,” providing active assistance while walking, lifting and arranging patients for treatments and sanitary procedures like showers. The robo-suit offers nearly 70 pounds of back relief per lift and includes integrated grips for getting a stable hold on things and for repositioning patients.

Just like its sibling exoskeleton, the Apogee+ is small and lightweight, so it can be worn by a variety of people in a diverse array of environments. It’s also waterproof, which should help when bathing patients, and dust-proof, which should help when, uh, working in rundown medical facilities straight out of a Stephen King novel.

Most German Bionic products, like the powerful Cray X, are designed for industrial settings, but the Apogee+ is made for health clinics, so it features a softer form factor with light “patient-friendly” colors. The suit’s unibody exterior is designed for an easy disinfection process, so germs and bacteria won’t accumulate. This is obviously quite essential in healthcare environments.

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German Bionic touts recent data celebrating the efficacy of exoskeleton wearable products in the healthcare space, saying that it “offers flexible and reliable support to nursing staff.” The Apogee+ is rolling out across North America now, so it’s already available for purchase by health care entities. If you want to try it for yourself, book a passage to Germany in November. The company’s offering in-person demos at global medical trade show Medica on November 13. These exoskeletons cost $9,900 or $299 per month forr bulk purchasers.