Stair-Climbing Wheelchair Gets FDA's OK [View All]

It's complicated and carries a hefty pricetag, but the federally approved iBOT wheelchair promises to give some of the nation's 2 million wheelchair users new freedom of movement, even allowing them to climb stairs.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the sale of the iBOT, which uses sensors and gyroscopes to climb up and down stairs. It also shifts into four-wheel drive to navigate grassy hills and can lift its occupant to standing height.

Doctors have called the technology potentially revolutionary and the FDA termed it a breakthrough, but one so complex that, unlike other wheelchairs, it will require a doctor's prescription and special training before patients can buy an iBOT.

The iBOT will cost $29,000, less than some top-of-the-line models for the severely impaired but far more than basic wheelchairs. The maker, Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Independence Technology, is negotiating with Medicare and other insurers to pay for the wheelchair, but could not say Wednesday if that is likely.


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