Maker of squeezy arthritis-friendly handgun claims the FDA has classed it as a medical device
A company called Constitution Arms claims that the FDA has classed its "Palm Pistol" (a squeezable handgun suitable for people with arthritis) 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") and they imply that Medicare will help you buy one. The FDA denies any certification and an expert on medical device regulation says that Medicare probably wouldn't subsidize these even if the FDA gave it the nod.
Company tries to get gun classed as medical device (via Geekologie)
"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."
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"It's something that they need to assist them in daily living," - I'll go ahead and quote Jeph Jacques on this one "oh my god it's a Home Suicide Kit"
I'm just kind of baffled at the assumption that any gun is needed for day-to-day life, much less a single shot one.
Agree with #1. If you have a medical need to use a handgun on a daily basis then arthritis is probably the least of your problems.
I, and everyone else in society, has a medical need to keep this out of the hands of anyone judged too weak to hold a nice, light pistol safely.
I'm guessing you don't sight down the barrel.
It looks like it's made of plastic. Can you make a gun from that? I would think it wouldn't last.
"They're trying to game the system" Uhhh, yeah, I'd say.
Needs target lock just in case your dementia kicks in...
That looks like those vintage squirt/knuckle water guns from the 1970s and 1960s.
http://i33.tinypic.com/28ix1so.jpg
9mm, cheap, plastic, single shot... nice disposable assassin's piece. They'll sell lots.
Just the thing for arthritic muggers who want to keep plying their trade to support themselves in their old age. Who could object to that?
After pondering the legitimate uses for this device, I can only envision a rural arthitic veterinatian needing put down injured animals.
Matthew Carmel's attempt to siphon taxpayer money into his company to attract capital and finance the pistol's manufacture is disingenuous at best. "Assist them in daily living?" Please. If this was actually his reason for creating the product, it would be a last-ditch weapon used in a worst-case scenario.
I've got no problem at all with a weapon of last resort designed for elderly folks. My mother keeps a wooden club by her bed that I carved when I was a kid (I was bored and had nothing to club things with, see). Totally useless, as she can't even swing the thing. This would be a more effective equalizer, if it ever came down to that.
I would call it a great example of geriatric design, but I think you can find Carmel's true intention in the copy on the product site:
His primary focus isn't the elderly, it's the gadget gun and concealed carry market. I don't have a problem with that either, but this isn't anything like a mobility scooter, and he shouldn't pretend that it is.
Why not make one out of a metal atari joystick... just click the red button with your thumb and a bullet goes flying out of the shaft of the joystick. The person who just whipped your ass in missile command is in for an unpleasant surprise.
Reason. In this case the term has several detached applications. There is a reason for medical devices being subject to review before medicare payment qualification. Then we have a question of what is the reason for this device to be in hands needing it? And then we look to history for a quote involving a sort of reason. Ultima Ratio Regum was graven on a historical sort of weapon. As was the same phrase on a fictional weapon. It will be a bit more of a design challenge to fit that DU needle firing railgun into a pistol however.
"Just the thing for arthritic muggers who want to keep plying their trade to support themselves in their old age. Who could object to that?"
I'd have to agree with #9 here. My Rheumatic meds are so expensive, I may need to rob someone to afford them!
I have a couple of questions for Mr. Carmel:
Will I be able to squeeze this hard enough to shoot it, or will I need my 3 year-old's help?
Will this also be "Kevorkian Approved"?
Does it come pre-loaded? Or can I call a medic-aid approved pistol-loader?
And finally:
Since I'll only be able to shoot once, and it doesn't look strong enough to penetrate the skin, do you have any recommended chafing points to aim for?
Eustace, it will need TSA bad guy facial recognition software. Put on a happy face, when visiting mom's place.
"I, and everyone else in society, has a medical need to keep this out of the hands of anyone judged too weak to hold a nice, light pistol safely."
so, your strong society doesn't want the weak getting firepower, eh? Afraid of a level playing field? :) How about grenades for those who can't sling a pistol? Nearly everyone can pull a pin!
i can see how this would be considered ridiculous by most standards. i live in an area i call anywhere america, cause it looks just like everywhere in every city we have. we have tons of old people living alone here, i mean tons like every fourth house or something crazy like that. they want to stay in their homes til they die and will fight tooth and nail if anyone even suggest somewhere considered "safe" for them. i would feel better if they all had these thingys to shoot people with. or at least if the idiots that abuse old people thought they had this it would help ease my concerns.
Aside from the whole "medical device" angle, from a design standpoint there seem to be major flaws.
1. If someone has trouble holding a pistol, are they going to be able to squeeze this thing hard enough to keep it in their hand with a 9 mm recoil? How many bones will get broken (hand, ribs, etc) if the weapon slips.
2. You had better shoot to kill, because if you wing them, they're going to be mighty pissed off, and you don't have a second round to fire. On the plus side, if the bad guy gets his hands on it, he will have at most one shot, and that's if the owner doesn't get a shot off into the ceiling first.
It's not as good as the late 19th Cen. palm pistols(same shape, held the same way, squeezed with your whole hand to fire). Those were 5 shot repeaters. And made of metal.
Probably not trying for Medicaid approval, the preorder deposits are going into an escrow account to impress investors. Just add controversy for instant eyeballs.
Hey, a good 1911 can have the trigger worked down to 2 pounds. A heavy 1911 or 2011 style single stack in 9mm or even some made for .380 would be better than this little guy... lol
My mistake, 7 or 10 shots depending on caliber. details here
How do you aim it anyway? You'd have to be within a foot of your target just to hit anything.
A wee detail from the first link: "Currently at the design stage". Right. Thing doesn't even exist yet and they have it registered with the FDA? They're just trying to squeeze some R&D money out of the NRA types. Moving right along...
I'm intrigued by the design. The implication is that this is easier to aim. But if that were so, wouldn't some military contractor have come up with the design or something like it years ago?
I have mixed feelings on guns. It is easy to be against them if you have always lived in relatively safe and secure situations. Also if you are big and strong. But when you are small and vulnerable, it's nice to know there is something to level the playing field. I've never had a gun, but after I was assaulted, I seriously considered it.
But I think I'd like a gun that looked like a gun. Just like I prefer dogs who look like hairy dinosaurs with little glinting eyes and great tyrannosaur grins. Sometimes, often, those who victimize look for people who look and act like victims. I suspect the difference in the way you carry yourself when you're wearing a gun, is going to make you look less vulnerable.
And I was totally anti-gun for most of my life. Funny how one incident can shift your world view. Not that I'm about to join the NRA. I haven't so much as laid a finger on a gun. But I don't get all huffy about them any more.
Aren't medical devices allowed through TSA checkpoints? Hmm...
I use my concealed carry pistol every day, in the same way that I use my seatbelt every day. It's like any other form of insurance. The day you let it lapse is always the day you need it. And I don't think there's anything unreasonable about a device that offers the same insurance to people with physical disabilities. They make especially attractive victims for predators. Everyone benefits if they have an effective means of deterrence.
Subsidies aside, I don't see any reason why this shouldn't work. It's similar to designs from the past, but taking advantage of modern CAD/CAM, plastics, (the barrel and breech are still metal) and laser sights.
I will say that if it were one of my aged relatives, I'd just buy them a S&W J-frame in .32 H&R, possibly with a laser sight. It's really not that hard to handle, and it would give them more than one shot.
This is just awful. Shouldn't this be some sort satire? Is it even possible to create something satirical when reality has become this ridiculous?
Guns don't kill people, twinkies do! Excuse me, I have to go barf now.
@#5 NOEN: My 9mm and .40 Glocks are made of plastic. Nothing wrong with a plastic gun. Cheap and reliable!
I thought Physician-Assisted Suicide was illegal?
@26
Slida, by pointing that out you have doomed us all. Please stand by while reality implodes.
*shoop*
#23 Sometimes, often, those who victimize look for people who look and act like victims. I suspect the difference in the way you carry yourself when you're wearing a gun, is going to make you look less vulnerable.
True. I took Krav Maga classes for that reason: attackers typically don't mess with people who look like they'll fight back (and it has a lot to do with posturing and the way one walks, not just size). Plus you can't forget it at home ;)
Unfortunately, I don't think it would be suitable for people with heavy arthritis...
And I really don't know what to think about that gun. I guess bad people and criminals get them, and they shouldn't be the only ones. A lot of aging/diseabled people are living alone out there without anyone to check on them or offer protection. They should have a way to protect themselves. I just wonder if that device is the best way.
We don't say it enough:
God bless America. This one will show up in a history textbook 500 years from now. Too good.
Dear Pipenta:
Invest more serious time in a martial art, it will give you the better return.
I'll be looking for a Stephen Hawking sort of sponsor for mny next invention: the eye-movement aimed, puffer-fired powered wheelchair gun. Modified military heads-up-display tracking tech with a super lightweight minigun (.17 caliber?). Can kill whatever you are looking at with a puff of air.
Wow, what a dark and horrific product.
Clearly an assassins gun.
Terrible self defense weapon, because a self defense weapon should either scare the assailant off or allow you to fire a warning shot.This does neither and is clearly a murder/suicide weapon.
And to sell it as an old person's tool?!
I mean, first we allow them to drive, then we give them prescription drugs, then bonner pills, now this? I just hope my grandparents don't fall in with one of the senior gangs that will soon be forming as SS fails.
Wow, nice fist concealable, I project its sales to be quite high, but not in the supposed market. Something that an enforcer would carry to a inner city peace conference. Reach forward to shake hands and watch the competition eat lead.
Or, it would fit nicely into a Hello Kitty lunchbox.
Lousy self-defense weapon, great murder/suicide weapon.
Constitution Arms: another scumbag manufacturer catering to the criminal market.
@ #35 "Terrible self defense weapon, because a self defense weapon should either scare the assailant off or allow you to fire a warning shot.This does neither and is clearly a murder/suicide weapon."
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong! You should take a firearm safety class, even if you don't intend to ever own or touch a firearm. It's very important to know how to deal with them (you may find one lying on the street and need to secure it).
1 - The weapon should never be visible unless you NEED it for self defense, so there's no "scaring the assailant". If you just show someone your gun and they run off, great, but often there will be another bystander and you'll get in trouble for brandishing. You keep the gun in the holster until your life is in danger, and then you shoot to stop the threat (and no more!)
2 - NO warning shots EVER. How do you know where that warning bullet is going? What comes up must come down. Again, you don't remove the gun from the holster until your need it. And you always shoot to stop the threat, you are responsible for the bullet the instant it leaves your gun, so you better make sure you know exactly where it's going. Aim for center of mass and shoot until the threat it gone.
This gun is great for the elderly. They need something easy to aim at close range and easy to shoot with weak hands. I've seen older guys at the range with modified 1911s with very light triggers. They still struggle though, because it's extremely hard to load and rack the slide. I hope that this becomes a widespread solution to the unarmed vulnerable elderly population.
It looks so much like a squeaker that I could see some lovely-but dotty old lady knitting it into a novelty jumper.
this piece would be accurate in the hands of the average elderly person to how far? Three feet? That short barrel? Might as well be a punch dagger, or a spring loaded spike. One shot? Better kill or the guy with the graze will be REALLY pissed.
Stupid, unjustifiable weapon. #39, you're not a shareholder?
Looks like plants, smells like plastic.
FDA determined that it is not a medical device and revoked registration for the Kevorkianizer.
Palm Pistol was listed in the registration request as a "recreational adaptor."
#41, The statements that #39 made about how great the gun is are just speculative opinions. But his/hers/its points about the uses of a gun are correct. #35 offered a conventionally incorrect and ignorant opinion about the use of a weapon in extremis -- an opinion that has proven wrong too many times to let it go unchallenged.
To me the gun looks a little silly, frankly. The design lacks accuracy, power, and follow-up capability. The elderly person who would carry this would be able to carry a J-frame, so if it sells it will sell as a gadget gun.
#39, if you're in the Santa Barbara area during the next month I would be happy to take you to the range and show you basic handgun safety. This goes for any non-shooters on the site, actually.
A fake plastic shootin' iron
for a fake plastic gu-unfight
in the fake pla-astic mall...
#35 offered a conventionally incorrect and ignorant opinion about the use of a weapon in extremis -- an opinion that has proven wrong too many times to let it go unchallenged.
No i didn't. If you were being mugged and you pulled this weapon in self defense the assailant literally would have no idea what you are pointing at them. My second comment was based on the idea that this would be a single shot weapon, I am not sure if that was the case.
If you had this weapon in your hand and facing a criminal, you would have little choice to do anything other then try to make a fatal shot, which is perhaps the worst outcome of a confrontation, besides the criminal taking your gun and shooting you.
I have often heard the recommendation that home owners consider a shotgun for home defense, because the sound of cocking one is often enough to make a possible thief crap their pants and run.
I thief at 2 feet away could mistake this for an asthma inhaler.
And a warning shot in my mind is one not aimed at the head or chest, not firing a gun in the air like roscoe from dukes of hazard.
I thief at 2 feet away could mistake this for an asthma inhaler.
It would be more likely be recognized as an ostomy bag, which would probably be a more effective deterrent than the gun.
@48
Either way, you don't want to mix up any of the 3 items in question, or you'll get a story for the grandkids (provided you survive).
OMG.
#33 is completely right. I can't even begin to imagine what the reaction would be should this thing touch a European market.