It's really awesome that we are at a technological place in time where "pretty much anyone" can build prosthetic limbs out of commonplace items such as Lego.
But that it's actually done and used tells a lot (of negatives) about healthcare tech.
But that it's actually done and used tells a lot (of negatives) about healthcare tech.
Of course, a lot of articles like these are by US people, where finding the money for a commercial prosthetic is much more difficult. Can you get anything from health insurance if you don't have a job (because you're missing a limb)?
The reality is that lots of people find prosthetics, both commercial, and DIY... deeply unsatisfying [1]. But people who don't use them think some of them look cool, so at least that's something.
[1] https://www.inputmag.com/culture/cyborg-chic-bionic-prosthet...
Do you mean that in the sense that healthcare tech has been slow to move in terms of making advanced bionics available to the public that needs them? My general impression would make me agree, although bionic prosthetics have gotten way better in recent years. Simultaneously, it all seems like tech that could have been available decades prior.
1) Incredibly expensive, but if you have insurance that pays for it, amazing. 2) DIY hobby projects that are "good enough" to still have incredibly profound impacts on peoples' lives. They aren't particularly costly, but only available if you're lucky enough to know someone with those skills.
I know it's not a trivial problem, but it seems like we should be able to mass-produce the "good enough" version and make them widely available at an accessible cost.
Having a working prototype with a technician on hand means you’re only about 10% of the way to having a mass-producible product though