Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc (EKSO)

[Rhetorical]

The device will still benefit from crutches in the short term. The patent starts off having to do with having attachable/detachable crutches. Basically people standing still that want to use their hands, so they attach the crutches to the suit temporarily, then detach them again when they want to start walking again. Very simple.

The devil (for the competitors) is in the details.
Their devices will use a lot more battery power if they aren't able to intuitively use the crutch supports as they move and change. Specifically, mechanical work to maintain balance that wouldn't be necessary if they were sensing and reacting to location/position of the crutches.

Furthermore the patent leads the way into completely hands free devices which have no crutches whatsoever, but this will take time. This may well happen soon, so it's crucial to get the patents for the technology now when that becomes the standard. Competitors will have a much more difficult/expensive time trying to catch up when Ekso does release a completely hands free model. That being said, I don't expect Ekso to full remove the crutches from their suit for at least another couple years. I think a couple years is a fairly short amount of time for an investment, despite the markets such strict attention to quarterly reports. It's important to remember that design patents last for 14 years by default.