Kelzut t1_j3fms7b wrote on January 8, 2023 at 5:28 AM

I don't think this will entirely replace the standard wheelchair but it's a good alternative for those that have enough control over the legs but are unable to fully support their weight independently. This will work wonders for those with spinal cord injury that still have some function left. Prevents both the muscles from wasting away from disuse and the leftover spinal networks from learning "bad" behavior patterns. Wonder what the cost of one of these is though, looks pricier than a wheelchair. Until they get insurance companies to pay for this instead of a wheelchair or walker, it probably won't be mainstream.

MrSpiffenhimer t1_j3fqhkn wrote on January 8, 2023 at 6:03 AM

They said he’d only made 100, so I’m guessing they’re nowhere near where an insurance company would even start to evaluate it. An insurance company won’t bother evaluating it for coverage if there’s only a few dozen even available, it’s not worth the costs. Besides the fact that there are dozens of health insurers in the US that would all need to evaluate it, the numbers aren’t there, yet. He’d need to ramp up production significantly before that could happen. I could see this being picked up, at significant cost, by spinal cord injury rehab facilities like Madonna and QLI for internal use, which could lead to significant demand to help fund a boost in production to get to the critical mass for insurance coverage.