iBot Self-Balancing Mobility Device FDA Approved

ptorrone writes "In November of 2002, I was able to see the self-balancing iBot mobility device, which can go up and down stairs and travel/balance on two wheels, in person. It literally brought tears to my eyes seeing what it will mean for millions of disabled people around the world. Today, the FDA has approved its use, after years of approval processes and testing." We've mentioned this Dean Kamen-created product previously, but it's good to see it officially approved and available for those who need it.

Comments

Re:FDA + Wheelchair

[trikberg]

As always Google found what I was looking for here.

Johnson & Johnson wants to market the IBot as a physician-prescribed device, instead of a consumer device, so that it can be covered under many medical insurance plans, according to development information provided by the company.

Re:FDA?

[Anonymous Coward]

They are marketing it as a medical device which requires a doctor's order so that insurance will help people buy them. Therefore it is considered a medical device and needs fda approval. THey could have marketed it directly to consumers and avoid the FDA hassel but then insurance could not help pay for them.

Videos of it in use

[batemanm]

Since I'd never seen this thing in use I dug up some videos of it in use. The first two are quite low quality, the final one is a good quality.

• Movie 1 1.8MB
• Movie 2 1.8MB
• Movie 3 20 MB

It still looks a little unstable on stairs but it does mean that a person in a wheelchair can go up and down stairs by themselves, which is definetly a good thing.

FYI on FDA

[segment]

For those wondering why the FDA would have to approve the device, figured this would help. Also in Europe they have the Medical Device Directive, and the UK Medical Devices Agency

Who is watching your food to make sure it is safe? Who should be? Well, for almost ninety years the Food and Drug Administration has been charged with the task of protecting and promoting the public health. Laws including the Nutrition Labeling Education Act, Pure Food and Drugs Act, and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act have shaped the way the FDA operates, outlining an agency which has jurisdiction over the approval of food additives (Delaney clause), biologics (prescription drugs), medical devices, and cosmetics produced by manufacturers for the United States market

Why do they place so much power in one agency is beyond comprehension. Can you imagine the type of abuse someone can put another company through. IE, say XFOO Corp. has some Cancer drug that works and the developers spent some couple million on it.

Now say employee John Foofxr decides he wants someone to pay him some serious moolah to have this drug approved. Either the company pays or it doesn't. Too much power for one gov agency, and bear in mind they have no oversight agency.

Congressional Institute's page on the FDA

Re:Exercise

[mikeophile]

The gyro technology that is used in both the iBot and the Segway don't keep the device balanced directly.

They simply provide feedback to an onboard computer that controls the servo motors that power them.

About 100 times a second, the motors make corrections either backward or forward based upon the data the gyros provide.

So no, there is no way of making a Segway a push scooter since it can't balance at all without power.

From the pictures, the iBot looks like the motor might be able to be disengaged to allow it to be pushed in four wheel mode. I don't think it can be manually self-propelled however.

Reading through the comments

[dodell]

I see that many people are concerned about what happens when this thing falls down. This is not a new invention. It's been tested thoroughly for the past several years and has not fallen once yet. This is not to say that faulty manufacturing could not contribute to this happening, but to give you an idea, I saw a program where someone sat in one of these things and wiggled around like a madman. It stayed up.

As to answer peoples' questions regarding to Dean's interest in the medical sector: Dean's first invention was something to make IV injections smaller/easier around the time of the 70's (sorry, I don't remember exactly what it was or where more information is). He's been working on advancements for disabled and sick people for many years. I think it's due to commend him for his work.

Re:Hefty price tag

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

"the iBot costs $29,000. Most people who would benefit from this technology cannot afford it, unfortunately."

Not true. As an approved "medical device", some to all of the cost can be paid for by insurance. And this avoids having to do extensive modifications to a home: the ramps, stair lifts, kitchen modifications, etc. can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Just its ability to go over a small curb, such as is often found between a garage and house or front entry walk and house eliminates two ramps. Standing up means the top half of a kitchen and closet is no longer useless.

The ability to 'stand up' and reach things makes much more of the world and home available to a paraplegic, and can probably give a proportion of them the ability to live without attendants or to expand their career opportunities.

Re:And here I am

[Night0wl]

The thing is with electric wheelchairs they're a sort of double edged sword.

Yes a number of disabled individuals in an electric wheelchair could push them selves around in a manual chair. In my own circumstance I could indeed push my self around. But due to my disability, Anterior spinal muscular atrophy, type 2, pushing my self around is very slow, tedious, and tiring work. Not to mention a simple low grade hill will bring me to a stop. Even if I did excersize extensively, the disease works harder then I do. Even others with more severe disabilities could push them selves in a manual chair, but the effort to do so or the lack of muscular control makes it too dificult. So the electric aspect of wheelchairs allows us to travel with speed, thus being more normal.
In a vague way once you begin using a manual wheelchair it's all down hill from there. Walking is indeed a baseline form of exercize, sitting and pushing your self around is less, and electric more so. That is more taylored to those with progressive diseases. I was a seemingly normal kid, just with a particular walk, up until I was 8. I'd fall down fairly often, more so the closer to 8 I got. Around 8 I got my first manual chair, I'd push my self any where I needed to go or my mother/friends would push me, how ever I could stand on my own for limited ammounts of time.
I don't remember exactly when I got my electric chair, it wasn't too long after my first manual.

Electric wheelchairs are more often then not a neccessaity, for those in them.

--

As a note to any one who mentions the cost of this thing, it isn't just the iBot. Wheelchairs, and medical equipment in general, are expensive. I use a rather plain/normal electric wheelchair, which when newly aquired was 15,000$
Which is well beyond the means of my family. Thankfully how ever, the government (yes, I know, taxpayers) has picked up the tab on that one. But they don't do it swiftly, the process of aquiring a new chair is a long and tedious one.
I my self am in need of a new chair, as mine is several years old (5+) and it's simply meeting the end of it's life. So we will consult with my numerous doctors, a medical equipment distributer, and start the process soon. Justification letters have to be written, any denials have to be resubbmitted, it can often take a year or more for it to come to an end.
This is true for all things medical that you aren't paying for out of pocket. It all needs justification, a prescription, and time. Some less then others of course.

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If I some how manage to wind up in one of these, I'll be sure to submit something to slashdot about it ;p

and to the trolls bickering at my previous post, can't you handle a counter-joke with a bit of insult tossed in?
Don't you think it was more flame bait then funny to joke about mobility as a "sucker"?