Larry Jasinski - CEO, ReWalk Robotics | Worcester Business Journal

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ReWalk Robotics and its wearable exoskeleton — like those with disabilities that the product helps — can only go up from here. After last year's Smaller Business Association of New England's Innovation Award; Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval; and its $150-million initial public offering, the company, led by CEO Larry Jasinski, is poised for success.

Asked to describe his experience at ReWalk, Jasinski said it's been “the best experience of my life.”

Jasinski, who has a bachelor's degree in marketing from Providence College and an MBA from the University of Bridgeport in Conn., had related experience before joining the firm in 2012. He has served as president and CEO of Cortek Inc., which develops treatment for degenerative disc disease; Soteira of Natick, a medical device maker for those with compression fractures of the vertebrae; and has held various positions at medical device maker Boston Scientific in Marlborough.

“Our goal has not changed,” Jasinski said, from the time he came to the company with 17 employees, to its current team of 72. “The goal is to use robotics to allow people better health, a better life experience.”

The exoskeleton allows the user the benefits of exercise; to be more eye-to-eye with others; and the ability to do simple tasks, like getting things from high shelves. ReWalk was founded in Israel in 2001 by inventor Amit Goffer — after he was left paralyzed following an ATV accident. The growing company opened offices in Marlborough in 2012.

The average person with a spinal-cord injury is likely a younger man, Jasinski said. He said there are 42,000 U.S. veterans with spinal-cord injuries. With government dollars already funding research into the benefits of walking to help soldiers, the ReWalk exoskeleton's timing was fortuitous: ten days after FDA clearance, the James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. became the first U.S. insurer to pay for the $70,000 exoskeleton for the veterans it serves.

One of the company's goals, said Jasinski, is to further insurance acceptance of the device. “Someday (our clients) will include those who have had a stroke, MS, or someone who is older and in need of an assistance device,” he said.

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10 to Watch 2015 - Larry Jasinski, ReWalk Robotics