War and Prosthetics
Jose Armenta
Professor Threat
MGMT 330
September 5, 2013
War’s Impact On The Prosthetic Industry
The nation's military hospitals are experiencing a surge of patients returning home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan in need of prosthetics. As of January 2012, more than 1,400 service members required major limb amputations due to wounds sustained in combat. Nearly one in four service members incurred the loss of multiple limbs. The increase in on-the-ground operations and exposure to IEDs has resulted in an increase in the number of bilateral amputations. The connection between armed conflict and major advances in medical device engineering is hardly new. The medical and prosthetic industry is no different then any other in that it is susceptible to its external environment. Today's situation recalls trends of 153 years ago, when the brutality of the civil war conflict spawned a revolution in the design and mass production of artificial limbs. Recognizing the alarming number of amputations resulting from combat, the U.S. government unveiled the "Great Civil War Benefaction," a commitment to provide prosthetics to all disabled veterans. With the lure of government support, entrepreneurs began competing for a share of the growing prosthetics market, fast forward till today and the U.S. government has investing over $30 million in the research directed at improving care for extremity war injuries. Dozens of companies large and small, foreign and domestic have received grants to invent and improve prostheses that will be used first by wounded warriors and eventually by the much larger number of civilian amputees. Wars typically yield such advancements because those who have sacrificed limbs often demand replacements that push the limits of prosthetic technology. Wounded warriors historically have helped push the boundaries of prosthetic technology by demanding more functional, durable, comfortable devices, this demand for new technology and government
Professor Threat
MGMT 330
September 5, 2013
War’s Impact On The Prosthetic Industry
The nation's military hospitals are experiencing a surge of patients returning home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan in need of prosthetics. As of January 2012, more than 1,400 service members required major limb amputations due to wounds sustained in combat. Nearly one in four service members incurred the loss of multiple limbs. The increase in on-the-ground operations and exposure to IEDs has resulted in an increase in the number of bilateral amputations. The connection between armed conflict and major advances in medical device engineering is hardly new. The medical and prosthetic industry is no different then any other in that it is susceptible to its external environment. Today's situation recalls trends of 153 years ago, when the brutality of the civil war conflict spawned a revolution in the design and mass production of artificial limbs. Recognizing the alarming number of amputations resulting from combat, the U.S. government unveiled the "Great Civil War Benefaction," a commitment to provide prosthetics to all disabled veterans. With the lure of government support, entrepreneurs began competing for a share of the growing prosthetics market, fast forward till today and the U.S. government has investing over $30 million in the research directed at improving care for extremity war injuries. Dozens of companies large and small, foreign and domestic have received grants to invent and improve prostheses that will be used first by wounded warriors and eventually by the much larger number of civilian amputees. Wars typically yield such advancements because those who have sacrificed limbs often demand replacements that push the limits of prosthetic technology. Wounded warriors historically have helped push the boundaries of prosthetic technology by demanding more functional, durable, comfortable devices, this demand for new technology and government