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join us follow us• 1990’s initial development by Dean Kamen at DEKA • 2000 Amid a blaze of publicity, Kamen shows the iBot to President Clinton at the White House • 2003 iBot 3000 launched worldwide • 2006 Medicare unexpectedly withdraws insurance cover for the iBot – the beginning of the end • 2008 J&J announces immediate cessation of production and withdrawal of support at the end of 2013 • 2010 Save the iBot campaign begins •
• the iBot’s cutting-edge technology gave added impetus to many R&D departments at wheelchair manufacturers across the globe • it enhanced the prospects of better products & an improved quality of life for all wheelchair users • tragically its withdrawal means that the speed of developments has returned to a snail’s pace •
• J&J’s business model was based on Medicare providing insurance cover for the iBot in stair-climbing mode and with its unique 2 wheeled balance function • however, Medicare did not allow funding, because it did not deem these functions to be “medical necessities” • the iBot therefore competed against other, much cheaper, wheelchairs • so iBot owners only received about 20% reimbursement • as a result, few iBots sold •
