Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Japanese Medical Devices to Be Manufactured in Saudi Arabia | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A man wears the new HAL device during a presentation at Haneda airport. (Reuters)


Tokyo – Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Group, represented by Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Company in Tokyo announced that it will manufacture and sell the HAL medical devices in Saudi Arabia.

ALJ will execute the new project in cooperation with the Japanese Company Cyberdyne (mother company manufacturing these devices), after it acquired the official permits from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

HAL is a device that supports the function of body movements.

The first step involves the introduction of the devices in the Abdul Latif Jameel Group medical institutions before distributing them at other Saudi medical facilities. Efforts are being made to cover treatments with these devices by the national social security authority.

ALJ said on Saturday that the Kingdom highly needs such devices with the growing number of car accidents. The resulting brain and spinal injuries from these accidents lead to the loss of motor function, which require the help of HAL devices.

Cyberdyne group is among the leading companies in designing and producing Cybernix medical devices that combine robotic engineering and medical science.

These devices are worn by the patient so they may support his body movement by receiving physiological signals from the brain that express his will to move. They help him carry out this movement through a skeleton composed of artificial joints and parts that mimic the movement of the human body.

There are many types of skeletons that practice different functions. Some help the patient hold objects, take the stairs, and walk, along with many other functions. In some cases, the help provided by these skeletons contributes in the gradual rehabilitation of the missing motor functions.

Along with the direct benefit provided by the medical services, the company is counting on gradually transferring the Japanese techniques to the hands of Saudi staff working in this important scientific field.