http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16207-gun-for-the-disabled-classed-as-medical-device.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-newsGun for the disabled 'classed as medical device'

A US company claims to have received federal approval to market a 9-mm handgun as a medical device and hopes the US government will reimburse seniors who buy the $300 firearm.

Called the Palm Pistol, the weapon is designed for people who have trouble firing a normal handgun due to arthritis and other debilitating conditions.

"It's something that they need to assist them in daily living," says Matthew Carmel, president of Constitution Arms in Maplewood, New Jersey, which hopes to manufacture the Palm Pistol - now just a patent and specifications.

"The justification for this would be no more or less for a [walking aid] or wheelchair, or any number of things that are medical devices," he says.

The sales information reads: "It is also ideal for seniors, disabled or others who may have limited strength or manual dexterity. Using the thumb instead of the index finger for firing, it significantly reduces muzzle drift, one of the principal causes of inaccurate targeting. Point and shoot couldn't be easier."

Constitutional Arms informed a medical technology blog that the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) had approved the Palm Pistol as a medical device, classifying it as a "Daily Activity Assist Device".

The company reportedly said that they are now seeking a Durable Medical Equipment coding for the gun, which if awarded would allow it to be prescribed and reimbursement paid through Medicare or private health insurance.

http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn16207/dn16207-1_300.jpgAnd people wonder why we have a broken health care system with runaway spending as well as the highest gun death rate in the first world.

what makes things easy for grandma makes things easy for kids

But FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey denies that the agency has formally labelled the gun a medical device: "At this time, there have been no formal designations of the Palm Pistol by the FDA as a medical device."
"The FDA doesn't make a determination about a weapon, they make a determination about medical products that are designed to help people and improve their health," says Bill Maisel (http://www.secure-medicine.org/bios.html), Director of the Medical Device Safety Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Carmel contends that he submitted documentation to the FDA to get Palm Pistol listed as a Class I medical device - a classification reserved for devices that pose little risk to a patient's health, such as stethoscopes and walking aids.


As evidence of the government's stamp of approval, Carmel points to a notice (pdf format) (http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/FDA%20Product%20Code%20ILT%20Palm%20Pistol%20Regis tration.pdf) he received from FDA.
Dated 2 December 2008, it reads: "You have successfully entered your facility registration and device listing information," then goes onto list an address in Maplewood, New Jersey, for Constitution Arms.
"I see that a facility has been registered. That does not register a device or a pistol," Maisel says.
Even if the FDA were to approve the Palm Pistol as a medical device, securing Medicare reimbursement is another issue entirely, says Kevin Schulman (https://faculty.duke.edu/faculty/info?pid=5220), an expert on medical device regulation at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. "Medicare does not cover everything that FDA approves."

"It's a nice gimmick for this manufacturer, but I can't imagine that Medicare would pay for this, since it doesn't meet their criteria," he says. "They're trying to game the system, clearly, but hopefully they won't get much further."


Dude, if you want a real target. Focus it on all the scooter ads, "no money out of your pocket", and companies. The vast majority of their customers want a scooter because they are too obese to walk.

Focus on how in California, you can get a blue card to park up close to the WalMart doors when you are obese. When they should be forced to park out by the street to get some exercise.

Dude, if you want a real target. Focus it on all the scooter ads, "no money out of your pocket", and companies. The vast majority of their customers want a scooter because they are too obese to walk.Scooters don't have the delicious irony of this device, though.

I suppose, in the warped American world where we let 8-year-olds fire Uzis and kill themselves (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/28/uzi_recoils_questions_echo/) and approve concealed weapons permits for blind men (http://wcco.com/local/blind.man.gun.2.367488.html), it makes perverse sense to also give guns to senile, sensory impaired, disabled seniors with shaky hands.

But using taxpayer dollars to fund injuries which then cost millions more in taxpayer dollars, is just too much.

At least you can't kill people with scooters. Not enough kinetic energy, not even given the huge mass of the average Wal-Mart shopper. As we've all just seen, it takes a whole herd of them, stampeding at full gallop, to kill a guy.

No, but they are real. It is a real cost and a real problem.


Your cripple gun is a non issue.

I had the privelege of testing not this model, but, a similar model for some small arms. The results were slightly mixed on effectiveness. I preferred the stock M-16 myself, than without this contraption, which was one of the various grips on weaponry we were testing on. I found on semi auto, my personal results did not change much, nor on burst, or on the A-1 version with full auto, that again, I did not see results. However, some of my compatriots did see some noticable improvement in their shooting ability in the same conditions and standards, but, they tended to be trigger jerkers and spray enough rounds at the target, they will hit it eventually.

Now, on the oldie M60 model automatic, there were better results overall in the first shot placement. Generally, with automatics, you fire bursts of 6-9 rounds at the target. The first shot, if it is off, generally the rest will be as well, and you also tend to squeeze after the first shot with the standard trigger. You typically have alot of movement anyway on auto, hence the 6-9 round bursts. On other crew served weaponry, such as the SAW, there was no noticable applications of accuracy. Pistols, I did not see much difference as well. Now the really nasty part was they also tended to go off fairly easier, that our standard triggers, didn't. The bumps and running around ducking and dodging around things did not take to well, as the equipement tended to break alot, jam alot, allittle sand under that trigger, you can forget about even having a weapon, or the weapon worst case will not cease firing.

However,that is all good for the miltiary, I see no practical application for this in the civilian world let alone prescribing such tools on medicare. Yes, people like to shoot, hunt, shoot at each other for various reasons, I get that. But, I see no reason to subsidize such items, and they would be best purchased, and/or modified at your local gun stores at your own expense.