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A $1k Wheelchair

newmobility.com

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Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#441

Post by codfrantic »

DrammBA wrote: post #380
eru wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, only 1 billion bicycles? I would have expected more than that. In most of the places I lived (Europe, Asia) there seems to be more than one beater bike per person lying around somewhere (and some nice bikes, too, but much fewer).

I'm actually surprised it's 1 billion, when you remove children, elderly, people simply out of shape for a bike, people unable to afford a bike no matter how cheap, people with disabilities incompatible with bikes, that billion is like 75%+ coverage of TAM.

Don't forget Dutch people. I own and use four bicycles. My wife owns three.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#442

Post by extua »

Damogran6 wrote: post #381
tim333 wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look on ebay there are loads of wheelchairs for sale from about $100-$200 (£80-150 if british). They are mostly made in China and I think work ok - I bought one for £80 to use with my dad and it was fine. But that was for occasional use. I guess if you were to use it all the time you might want something fancier.

That raises a whole host of other issues. They're $200, because they don't have to pay their employees or provide a safe environment, the Government is subsidizing the manufacture or other unsavoury reasons. You can make things really cheap if you don't care about your staff.

The Chinese government subsidising the manufacture of wheelchairs doesn't sound as nefarious as you're making out. I would be proud if my government did the same thing.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#443

Post by pkphilip »

leghifla wrote: post #440
pkphilip wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please see the link i sent. These are good wheelchairs. There is ZERO reason why a cushioned seat on a pair of wheels should cost more than $1K. I am always amazed at the extent to which Americans go to justify the crazy cost of medicines, healthcare, equipment etc in the US. Folks, you are being taken for a ride. Don't keep making excuses for the profiteering healthcare companies in the US.

How do you know they are good? Did you use one for an extended period of time? A set of wheels and a cushion do not make a good wheelchair, if you want to live an active life. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41721976 I am from Europe and chairs are a bit less expensive here, but an "active" wheelchair is usually more than 2k$ anyway, often closer to 3k$. And some are much more than that (for instance…

I have family members who have been life long users of wheelchairs

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#444

Post by K0balt »

ebalit wrote: post #348
K0balt wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a fascinating potential wedge for an open-source initiative. Could you please elaborate as to what makes a device highly usable and of good quality, vs cheap and unpleasant to use? I’ve long thought that open source would make a lot of sense for assistive devices, and that it has the potential to change incentives within the cartel of assistive device manufacturing.

There was a HackadayPrize 2023 competitor that worked on this [0]. He had to rethink the way those devices are built to bring the cost down. That would be interesting to know if his solution could match the 4k$ in term of usability or if there is some issue like refreshing rate that make the piezo based system necessary for a good user experience. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXi1tG78AW4

That looks like a great project. I share your curiousity regarding the user experience of this vs the piezo units. Looking at it, it should be in the 50-100mS range for refresh times, maybe that is too slow? It seems like it would be plenty fast? I wonder if there are other haptic factors with the piezo, like vibration?

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#445

Post by interactivecode »

fotta wrote: post #16

Custom fit lightweight wheelchairs are expensive. My Ti-Lite (one of the most popular lightweight chair brands) Aero Z starts at $3k and goes up quickly with wheels and backrest and casters and various other options that I need for sitting 16 hours a day without creating more problems. Insurance covers this for me every 5 years, but of course that's not a luxury every one has. Most plans don't cover DME 100%. What Za…

So about the price of a Herman miller chair. Honestly sounds pretty reasonable to me. Though ideally it was less so price doesn’t limit access

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#446

Post by zestyping »

lynx23 wrote: post #258
humbleferret wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was curious so looked at a few power wheelchairs...It's wild how expensive they are, especially considering the advancements in electric mobility tech elsewhere. You'd think they'd share some components with e-scooters, e-bikes, or even electric cars – motors, batteries, controllers. Are the powertrains and control systems in power wheelchairs really that specialised? Or is it another case of the medical device mar…

Assistive technology costs are high because consumers barely have an alternative. I am blind. In Europe, a 40-cell braille display starts a 6k. 6k, just for a monitor which displays 40 characters . Prices are largely unchanged since 20 years. Technological advancements are irrelevant. Resellers will squeeze the cow, thats plain capitalism man.

If you don't mind educating a curious person — why are Braille displays still worth making when text-to-speech is free, everywhere, and communicates information much more quickly than Braille? I can understand that there might be special situations where you really need a device to be silent, but it's hard for me to see how the cost-benefit tradeoff would weigh in favour of a Braille display except in the rarest of circumstances.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#447

Post by bityard »

saagarjha wrote: post #420
bityard wrote: post #384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that 1 billion adult bikes in particular? Because in the US, anywhere outside of big cities or college towns, children are ALMOST the only people who ride bikes regularly.

Lots of people have bikes who don’t use them regularly. It’s the kind of thing you have in your garage and bring out on a nice day sometimes.

fair enough!

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#448

Post by bityard »

eru wrote: post #434
saagarjha wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people have bikes who don’t use them regularly. It’s the kind of thing you have in your garage and bring out on a nice day sometimes.

Or at least you mean to, but perhaps never get around to it.

I poke fun at my neighbors for having decorative kayaks in their garage.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#450

Post by Tepix »

newaccount74 wrote: post #280
Tepix wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're replying to someone who just stated they have such a bike and it has already lasted 12 years.

They have a single speed bike, which is a lot cheaper and not what most people mean when they want to buy "a bike". Adding gears will add at least 100€ to the price, for entry level components. They also said they replaced the tires with gatorskins, which are 40€ a piece.

So that's $400 instead of $300 then? Not sure if he means CAD or USD.
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