A medical review board has granted a ReWalk exoskeleton to a wheelchair-bound patient in the northeastern U.S.—and his insurance will pay for it, according to ReWalk. This could set a precedent for how insurance providers handle these sorts of claims, and even how they view walking.

The press release is sparse on the details. The patient is a surgeon who works in a wheelchair 11 hours per day. He filed a claim for a $69,500 ReWalk exoskeleton, the only such device approved by the FDA, which would enable him to stand and walk at work and at home. The patient's insurance company denied the claim, but that denial was overturned by an independent medical review board, deeming that the device was medically necessary for the patient.