The EXO-Crutch and EXO-Crutch Advanced are investigational devices, limited by United States law to investigational use. Not yet cleared or approved by the FDA. Not available for sale.
Meet the
EXO-Crutch.
Addax Medical is engineering the EXO-Crutch — a hands-free rehabilitation device built for lower leg, foot, and ankle injuries. No armpits. No hands. No compromise. Next up: the EXO-Crutch Advanced for partial and early weight bearing recovery.
Devices in the EXO-Crutch family
Powered parts — spring-driven only
US patent on the core mechanism
Current Prototype
EXO-Crutch · Non-Weight Bearing
Lower-leg recovery deserves
better than a compromise.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of patients are sent home after foot, ankle, or lower leg surgery with instructions to stay off the limb entirely — and a crutch designed decades ago to do it.
Hands are not a mobility device
Traditional axillary crutches occupy both hands and load the wrists and shoulders — joints never meant to carry a body's weight, for weeks at a time.
Compliance collapses under discomfort
Knee scooters and hands-free braces are abandoned mid-recovery when they chafe, tip, or simply don't fit daily life — undermining the healing protocol they were prescribed for.
Recovery has stages, devices don't
Non-weight bearing, partial weight bearing, and early weight bearing each call for different support — yet most devices offer one fixed level of assistance from day one to discharge.
One-size solutions ignore the injury
Lower leg, foot, and ankle injuries vary widely in severity and healing timeline. A rigid, non-adjustable device forces the patient to adapt to the tool, not the other way around.
One mechanism.
Two stages of recovery.
Addax Medical designed a single spring-driven, quick-connect platform that adapts across the recovery arc — instead of asking patients to switch devices as they heal.
EXO-Crutch
The foundational EXO-Crutch is built for strict non-weight bearing recovery — engineered to free both hands while keeping the injured limb fully off the ground, hour after hour.
- Fully hands-free frame for non-weight bearing gait
- Replaceable elastomer springs for baseline comfort tuning
- Quick-connect mechanism for fast round-rod assembly and fit adjustment
- Lightweight, non-powered construction — no batteries, no charging
Designed around real patients,
validated by real clinicians.
The EXO-Crutch wasn't sketched in a vacuum. Every feature traces back to intensive market discovery of patient needs and lived experience, combined directly with clinician input on what a rehabilitation device actually needs to do.
Patient discovery
Extensive interviews and field research with patients living through non-weight bearing and partial weight bearing recovery — surfacing exactly where existing crutches, knee scooters, and braces fail day to day.
Clinician input
Structured conversations with podiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, and physical therapists shaped how the device fits into real prescribing and monitoring workflows.
Iterative refinement
Every revision — the cuff, the frame, the spring mechanism — was tested against that combined patient-and-clinician insight before moving to the next prototype.
Key design features
- Ergonomic thigh cuff — adjustable comfort fit for extended daily wear
- Adaptive assist spring — the resistance mechanism at the heart of prescribed loading
- Lightweight aluminum frame — adjustable for most people from 4’9" to 6’7" and up to 275 lbs
- Stable, non-slip base — 230mm footprint for confident ground contact
A mechanical system,
tuned to the healing curve.
No motors, no electronics to fail — just precisely engineered springs and a quick-connect frame that a clinician can reconfigure as recovery progresses.
Fit & assemble
Round-rod frame members lock together through a quick-connect mechanism, sized to the patient in minutes without tools.
Set resistance
A replaceable spring — elastomer or steel — is selected to match the prescribed weight bearing stage and the patient's body weight.
Move hands-free
The device supports the injured limb through the gait cycle without occupying the hands, arms, or shoulders.
Progress the protocol
As the clinician advances the patient from non-weight bearing toward partial and early weight bearing, the spring is swapped rather than the device.
The science is moving toward
earlier, better-dosed loading.
Clinical research increasingly favors early and partial weight bearing over strict immobilization — but only when the prescribed load is actually delivered accurately. That gap is exactly what the EXO-Crutch platform is engineered to close.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 trials (1,847 patients) found early weight-bearing after ankle fracture surgery reduced pain, improved range of motion, and cut complications compared to delayed weight-bearing.
Systematic review, PMCMajorityof patients overshoot their target loadIn a study of 51 orthopedic inpatients using force-sensitive insoles, most patients — and even their physiotherapists — struggled to reproduce a prescribed partial weight-bearing load without a mechanical aid.
Journals.Healio.com88% vs 19%compliance with real-time load feedbackA comparative study found participants using real-time biofeedback stayed within their prescribed weight-bearing limit far more consistently than those using standard-of-care instruction alone.
IJSPTWhy the EXO-Crutch is built around calibrated resistance
Verbal instruction and bathroom-scale training are the clinical norm today — and the research above shows they routinely fail. The EXO-Crutch replaces guesswork with a mechanical spring calibrated to a specific resistance, so the limb encounters a consistent, prescribed load with every step rather than whatever the patient happens to apply. The EXO-Crutch Advanced extends this with interchangeable steel springs, letting clinicians step patients through partial and early weight bearing stages by changing a component — not by hoping instructions are followed.
This describes the engineering intent of an investigational device. It has not been clinically validated or cleared by the FDA.
The EXO-Crutch, worn and walking.
A look at the EXO-Crutch prototype in real use — hands free, weight off the injured limb, from Addax Medical's ongoing development testing.
Footage shows an investigational prototype in development testing. The EXO-Crutch is not yet available for sale or clinical use.
From patent to prototype,
toward FDA clearance.
The EXO-Crutch is progressing deliberately through prototyping, clinical input, and regulatory review. Nothing shown here is available for purchase or clinical use today.
- Complete
Concept & Patent
Core hands-free, spring-driven mechanism designed and secured under US patent protection.
- Complete
Working Prototype
Functional EXO-Crutch prototype built and refined through iterative bench testing.
- In Progress
Clinical Input & Beta Testing
Structured interviews with podiatrists, surgeons, and physical therapists; advanced prototypes moving into guided beta discovery.
- In Progress
Regulatory Preparation
FDA Class 1/2 pathway analysis, 510(k) predicate device research, and outcome measures under development.
- Upcoming
EXO-Crutch Advanced Development
Extending the platform with steel-spring resistance for partial and early weight bearing protocols.
- Upcoming
FDA Submission & Review
Formal regulatory submission. The EXO-Crutch is not FDA approved and remains under development until clearance is granted.
- Future
Market Availability
Launch planned in partnership with clinical and university stakeholders, pending successful regulatory clearance.
Not yet FDA approved. That’s by design.
We're building the EXO-Crutch the right way — through prototyping, clinical collaboration, and formal regulatory review — before it ever reaches a patient.
Investigational device
The EXO-Crutch and EXO-Crutch Advanced are under active development and have not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are not currently available for sale or clinical use.
Pursuing the correct pathway
Addax Medical is evaluating an FDA regulatory pathway, including predicate device research, and developing outcome measures alongside clinical advisors ahead of formal submission.
Built with academic partners
Development is supported through technology transfer and clinical collaboration with university and healthcare innovation partners.
Be first to know when the EXO-Crutch reaches its next milestone.
Clinicians, researchers, and partners can join Addax Medical’s list for EXO-Crutch development updates, beta testing opportunities, and regulatory milestones. No spam, no sales pressure — this device isn’t for sale yet.