Learning to balance When Stephanie Sablan took her first steps following a car accident in January, it was a remarkable achievement. What is most astounding is that the 24-year-old is still paralysed from the waist down.
She is able to walk with the aid of the eLEGS exoskeleton - a pair of robotic legs powered by a battery in a backpack.
By combining physical effort with cutting-edge technology Miss Sablan can walk around a room at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California.
First she was helped with a physical therapist but by her fourth session she was able to move on her own using crutches containing special sensors.
To walk, Miss Sablan attaches the eLEGS device to her legs and shoulders using velcro straps. The suit weighs 45lb but the machine uses battery power to support its own weight. As Ms Sabian moves her right arm forward using crutches, the skeleton reacts by moving her left leg via motors and vice versa.
'My first steps were pretty incredible,' Miss Sablan told the Santa Clara Mercury News.
'I definitely had to hold back my tears. It filled that void that was taken away from me.'
She hopes to eventually free herself of her wheelchair completely and 'jump into the eLEGS and go take a shower'.
The director of Rehabilitation Research  at the Valley Medical Center Stephanie Kolakowsky-Hayner also hopes the device will replace the wheelchair.
She said that patients like Miss Sabian were helping the team to test the safety and efficacy of the device in pilot studies. They are currently measuring how long patients can stand up and walk around with the device on and plan to have tested it on up to ten people by the end of the year.
The device can fit people between 5ft 2in and 6ft 2in in height and weighing up to 15st 7lb.
Miss Sablan said the device did put strain on her arms and torso as she moved herself forwards but she was able to adapt to the new movement as she started using the machine so quickly after her injury.
The machine is made by Berkeley Bionics and has been in development for two years.
The makers hope to offer a hospital model for £60,000 and develop a cheaper device adapted for the home by 2013.
Senior engineer Adam Zoss, said: 'The machine is designed to mimic as closely as possible what an able-bodied person is able to do.'