Science

Exoskeleton enables paralyzed groom to walk down the aisle

Matt Ficarra has been paralyzed from the chest down since an accident three years ago, but that didn't stop him from walking down the aisle at his wedding.

Matt Ficarra has been practising for the big day since April

Jordan Basile, left, and Matt Ficarra, centre, exchange wedding vows in Syracuse, N.Y. on Saturday. Ficarra, who was paralyzed in an accident in 2011, used a robotic-like device called an Ekso to walk down the aisle with the help of Nicole Smith, second right, and Frank Hyland from Good Shepard in Allenton Pa. (The Associated Press)

Matt Ficarra has been paralyzed from the chest down since an accident three years ago, but that didn't stop him from walking down the aisle at his wedding.

Ficarra was able to stand and walk during the wedding ceremony in suburban Syracuse, N.Y., on Saturday with the help of a battery-powered robotic exoskeleton called an Ekso.

He told the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper he's been driving to a rehabilitation centre in Allentown, Pa.,, weekly since April to practise walking with the apparatus.

Ficarra has been paralyzed since he broke his neck in a boating accident in 2011. He married Jordan Basile Saturday in the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel in DeWitt.

The couple leaves Monday for a honeymoon in Jamaica.