A woman has become the first human to receive a robotic limb fused with both her nervous and skeletal systems — and she’s being dubbed the “real bionic woman.”
Don’t forget the hardware maintenance. Sometimes entire companies disappear overnight, and then the patients are left with proprietary hardware that no one else can maintain running proprietary firmware that no one else can maintain. And the only longterm solution is another major surgery or dying of rejection.
Tbh I wouldn’t have any kind of implant installed unless it’s already been in widespread use for over 5-10 years. You’d be amazed how many orthopedic implants get recalled just a few years after they’ve been approved.
All of these “ground breaking” studies in prosthetics aren’t for the benefit of the prosthetic community. They’re just thinly veiled marketing schemes attempting to grab venture capital, or DOD funding.
Insurance companies rarely ever approve powered limbs in the first place, so the only people who could possibly benefit from this research are workers comp patients, and maybe a few soldiers whenever the military wants some decent marketing materials.
Don’t forget the hardware maintenance. Sometimes entire companies disappear overnight, and then the patients are left with proprietary hardware that no one else can maintain running proprietary firmware that no one else can maintain. And the only longterm solution is another major surgery or dying of rejection.
Tbh I wouldn’t have any kind of implant installed unless it’s already been in widespread use for over 5-10 years. You’d be amazed how many orthopedic implants get recalled just a few years after they’ve been approved.
All of these “ground breaking” studies in prosthetics aren’t for the benefit of the prosthetic community. They’re just thinly veiled marketing schemes attempting to grab venture capital, or DOD funding.
Insurance companies rarely ever approve powered limbs in the first place, so the only people who could possibly benefit from this research are workers comp patients, and maybe a few soldiers whenever the military wants some decent marketing materials.