Here’s an interesting article about the Myomo, a robotic device developed at MIT and sold by Myomo Inc. Part of the article addresses the lack of scientific evidence demonstrating efficacy of the device. Here’s an excerpt:
But there is no rigorous scientific evidence demonstrating how well it works. And the $7,000 device casts a spotlight on the hard-to-navigate world of rehabilitation devices — in which patients who are often desperate face a growing number of products whose effectiveness is still being determined.
“While there’s some suggestive, tiny studies — that are really pilot studies — that it might be useful, there’s no proof of efficacy using the usual criteria,’’ said Dr. Joel Stein, chairman of the rehabilitation and regenerative medicine department at Columbia University. He is also on Myomo’s scientific advisory board.
“I’ve worked with many stroke patients through the years, and I’m careful to not be too paternalistic deciding for them. . . . They feel like the medical system has given up on them, and there’s a fine line between not over-promising and saying we have nothing shown to be helpful, therefore you should just give up.’’