Case Study

Helping People Learn to Walk Again

We partnered with Ekso Bionics to build a revolutionary patient dashboard which allows physical therapists to monitor the progress, and predict outcomes, of patients using the EksoNR exoskeleton to treat spinal cord injuries.

Client

Ekso Bionics

Project Name

Pulse 2.0

Focus Areas

Medical, Devices, Wearables

Project Type

Design & Build

Challenge

Create a Robust Dashboard for Physical Therapists That Use Exoskeletons for Treatment

Methods

Design Sprint, User Research, React App

Outcome

Used in 250+ treatment centers worldwide, and Physical therapists have the tools they need.

What Does Ekso Bionics Do?

They specialize in the manufacture of exoskeleton devices used for both medical and physical labor applications. Their EksoNR device was the first exoskeleton to be cleared by the FDA and is specifically designed for rehabilitation. This device is used in the physical rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a stroke or spinal cord injury.

Person holding phone with ReconVelocity App

The Challenge

In 2016, Ekso Bionics approached FullStack Labs to build an MVP of the product to serve as the proof-of-concept for capturing the data from the device and displaying it back to users in a web portal. We built the initial version of EksoPulse in less than two months.

After the MVP launch, the app was well received Ekso wanted to develop the concept further. In 2017, Ekso chose FullStack Labs as their technology partner to build out a feature-rich dashboard to allow Physical Therapists to closely monitor patient activity with the EksoNR and help them plan future treatment.

“FullStack Labs took a very complex product that we were having difficulty getting to market, provided design and development upgrades, and helped us get that project completed in a timely and cost-effective manner. The team has been great to work with and are at the top of the list of software consultants.”

Mark Fiedler, Senior Firmware Engineer - Ekso

Approach

This project required the full design and build process from FullStack Labs. We conducted all of the activities outlined in our Playbook.

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Various ReconVelocity screenshots from the web app.

Research

To start the project, we conducted a full-day on-site kickoff session with all of the stakeholders in the same room, including engineers, marketing, physical therapists, and customer support. In this session we gathered requirements from the Ekso team and worked to prioritize the ones that would have the most impact on users’ experience and added most value to the app. In the following days, we conducted user interviews for every user type that interacts with the ecosystem including Physical Therapists, Patients, Facility Administrators, and Support Staff.

With the EksoNR exoskeleton and the EksoPulse 2.0 web app, patients are learning to walk again.

Design

In order to map out the structure of the app, we built a feature map, user journeys, and user flow which gave us an understanding of the required functionality and the user’s experience in the app. We then built out wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes that we used to test whether the designs met and exceeded user expectations. With the validation of our initial prototypes, we built out a fully-clickable high-fidelity prototype that demonstrated every feature of the app.

“We went from taking 20 steps with three physical therapists to taking hundreds of steps in a session.”

Diane Patzer, DPT - Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan

Development

Using the high-fidelity prototype and written requirements as reference, our developers built out the responsive web app with the latest technologies including React, Ruby on Rails, and Amazon Web Services.

Additionally we built a service with a Django/Python framework to collect and process the data generated by the EksoNR, during patient sessions, and present the data in the EksoPulse 2.0 app.

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Technologies Used

Results

Pulse 2.0 rolled out to over 270 physical rehabilitation centers and is being used by physical therapists across the globe. The Ekso team was pleased with the success of the app and we continue to build out more features. With the EksoNR exoskeleton and the EksoPulse 2.0 web app, patients are learning to walk again.

Read more about the project and a full client testimonial on the Reference Page

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