The Modern 'Bionic Man' limbs and implants is estimated to cost around $29 million based on the Bureau of Labor Statistic tools based on a report from NBC news.
A professor from economics at The New School for Social Research, Anwar Shaikh, agreed to this. The professor confirmed that the parts can cost at least $12,000 or more even with the improvements in technological manufacturing over the past years.
When you add the surgeons' fees, the total cost can go up to $33 million. The price can even go higher than this if the continued research and development will be added.
Modern advances show that it is a good promise for the future. Recently, a study released in Science magazine state that individuals in their prosthetics can soon regain a sense of touch. Progress in the use of 3-D printing as well as creations with Lucasfilm and Disney contributed to young amputees fitted with character-inspired prosthetics. There's a great hope that the prices of these devices are going to be much reasonable.
Other companies are also establishing their names in the field of bionics. Open Bionics is looking into the 3-D printing of bionic hand replacements. This can significantly reduce the cost of bionics for patients from $100,000 to $3,000.
The company is based in Briston and they print custom fitted bionic hands in 3-D version. The wait time for patients can now be shortened. Instead of waiting for a month for a prosthetic, Open Bionics can produce the custom fit only within the week.
Open Bionics was also able to gain royalty-free licenses from Disney for its Marvel, Frozen and Star Wars properties as they support making prosthetics for kids.
The Open Bionics website states, "[Kids] won't have to do boring physical therapy, they'll train to become heroes. They're not just getting medical devices, they're getting bionic hands inspired by their favorite characters."
