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

And here I am

[some damn guy]

using my legs like a sucker.

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.

--

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"?

Corrected Statement

[Anonymous Coward]

...but it's good to see it officially approved and available for those who need it.

Read: those who can afford it.

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.

Presidential Testing

[mothrathegreat]

Now all that remains is for George w Bush to fall off it and the federal government's work here is done

This device is truely amazing

[jeffkjo1]

The iBot is a truely amazing piece of equipment (and its self balancing device is borrowed by the Segway Scooter.)

On top of being able to go up stairs and balance on only 2 (one wheel raised on top of the other) (designed so that the disabled can effectively "stand" at eye level with a medium height adult) It also will fit through a standard size doorway. This means that if someone is to become disabled through an accident, that they do not need to retrofit their house (or move into a new one) to continue to be functional. The iBot allows a person to traverse stairs, travel on most all terrain (pneumatic tires), and due to its function to lift a person and self balance on only 2, a person can access higher kitchen cabinets, and shelves throughout their home.

This erases the massive price tag to retrofit a persons home, which is often paid for by workplace disability or the federal government. That is not to say that the iBot is not expensive ($20,000 at last count), but the cost of refitting a home can often be signifcantly more than that.

I've seen the device at FIRST competitions in the past (another Kamen brainchild), and it is revolutionary.