Page 30 - Mobility Management, May/June 2021

focus on smart technology
journey, “We have had a goal for the last five years
[of] working with clinicians and potential users every week, helping to design a device that’s meaningful. It is intuitive to use. One of the things that’s important about our technology is that it is spring based, and the motors tension the springs. The patient is able to move their arms much like they would in a swimming pool because it’s gravity balanced, and their arms feel weightless.”
Conley added, “We go beyond the physical impact of helping people with activities of daily living. [The Assist facilitates] choosing when to eat and what to eat and when to drink and what to drink. We have a physical impact, we have a social-emotional impact. It’s setting their environment up so they can live more fully and engage more fully and more independently. We strive
to have an economic impact, to offset those costs of needing help all the time.”
Abilitech is beginning its sales outreach by working with “centers of excellence,” including facilities special- izing in muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, ALS, spinal cord injury, and spinal muscular atrophy. Conley said clinicians have asked if the Assist could improve function over time by building strength: “When you enter a rehab population, which will include spinal cord injury and
stroke, we believe there
is an opportunity — we
do need to study it. So
we haven’t made any
claims, because we
have not studied it. Our
clinicians go there right
away: Within the first
two minutes, they think,
‘This is great for my
stroke patients. Moving with intention and repetition will facilitate the neuroplastic healing, and these people are going to get stronger.’”
While the Assist hasn’t yet been used to self propel a wheelchair, the possibilities seem robust. “We’re excited to report that we are commercially available,” Conley said. “We are listed with the FDA, so we are ready and able to help people right now. We have our own sales force that we are developing right now, and we are targeting centers of excellence that have high volume.”
As for funding, Conley said she believes reimburse- ment as an orthotic will be available: “We will launch with a miscellaneous code, but we can demonstrate efficacy in the very first fitting.” m
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