A Quadriplegic Marathon Runner?

If somebody told you we live in an age where the paralyzed can finish marathons, would you believe them?

Well, two years ago, that’s exactly what happened when British equestrian Claire Lomas completed the 32nd Virgin London Marathon.

In 2007, Claire, who had been competing at the Osberton Horse Trials, collided with a tree with such force that she suffered broken ribs, multiple neck fractures, and a severe spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the neck down.

Claire, as you may have guessed, was not exactly your typical spinal injury patient.

She had a special-forces attitude in her rehabilitation, and by 2011, she had recovered enough physical ability to give birth to a daughter.

However, as fit as the rest of her body was, walking was not in the cards… not until a revolutionary technology, pioneered in Israel, replaced the strength and coordination her natural lower extremities had lost in the accident.

An Exoskeleton for the Consumer

The device — the ReWalk — is something referred to as a “lower body exoskeleton.” If it evokes images of the Terminator, there’s good reason for it.

The consumer wears the device for both support and locomotion. The controls are issued from a wrist-mounted module.

Using the ReWalk, Claire was able to complete the marathon in a non-record breaking 17 days.

Part of the reason it took so long was that she needed the additional help of crutches to support her upper body.

Moreover, the device weighs nearly 50 lbs. and has a 5 lb. battery pack.

The cost isn’t exactly lightweight, either. Depending on the model and the configuration, ReWalk devices start at about $70,000 and can run as high as $85,000.

All of those elements are not insignificant limitations, but the progress this technology has made in 2014 tends to overshadow the drawbacks.

Federal Government Gives it the All-Clear

Earlier this year, after completing clinical trials at Philadelphia’s Moss Rehab Hospital, the ReWalk became the first device of its kind to gain FDA approval from the federal government — a step that will inevitably attract the R&D departments of numerous competitors.

Right now, the same device Claire Lomas used to complete the Virgin London Marathon is available for home use for people with paraplegia due to spinal cord injuries at levels T7 (seventh thoracic vertebra) to L5 (fifth lumbar vertebra).

This still leaves a large number of spinal cord injury victims without a 21st century solution to mobility needs, however.

But this demand will not stay unanswered for long.

ReWalk is moving forward with the development of a more advanced model for quadriplegics — in addition to the UPnRIDE, a sort of a hybrid between a ReWalk and a wheelchair, which allows quadriplegics to move around upright on a wheeled platform.

For all of its impressive technical innovations, ReWalk is not your standard world-renown robotics company.

Another Advantage: Market Positioning

Founded in 2001, ReWalk Robotics Ltd. (NASDAQ: RWLK) is still technically a microcap today, with less than a $60 million market capitalization.

However, its narrow, focused product line, extremely high-profile organic marketing efforts — with no small thanks to Claire Lomas — and tragically large target market (there are over 200,000 people in the U.S. alone whose conditions qualify them for a ReWalk device) makes it one of the most prospective biotechnology companies operating today.

ReWalk trades on the Nasdaq, and further adding to its air of stability — despite its small market capitalization — is that it trades in the $23 range.

The company IPO’d just this past September, quickly rising to $43 off initial buzz before settling down into the low $20s, where it’s stayed ever since.

Today, it’s at an all-time bargain, and you can rest assured that there will be no shortage of publicity moving forward. Stories like Claire’s — sobering as they may be — tend to inspire investors the same way they inspire innovators.

Keep an eye on this one.

To your wealth,

Brian Hicks

Brian is a founding member and President of Angel Publishing and investment director for the income and dividend newsletter The Wealth Advisory. He writes about general investment strategies for Tech Investing Daily, Wealth Daily and Energy & Capital. Known as the “original bull on America,” Brian is also the author of the 2008 book, Profit from the Peak: The End of Oil and the Greatest Investment Event of the Century. In addition to writing about the economy, investments and politics, Brian is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox and countless radio shows. For more on Brian, take a look at his editor’s page.