What is an arm robot?

ALS can lead to a loss of motor hand and arm function. Independent handling and grasping are no longer possible. In this constellation, assistance with all everyday activities is required from family members, care staff or other assistants.

Dependence on third parties can be experienced as stressful in the sense of a loss of motor autonomy. Since 2017, arm robots have been available that can take over certain actions (instead of the patient’s own arm). Arm robots are approved assistive technology devices that can be provided on the basis of a doctor’s decision and following an application for cost coverage by health insurance.

Arm robots are gripper arms (made of plastic with built-in electronics) that are usually mounted on the wheelchair and equipped with gripper fingers. Various options allow the patient to control the robotic arm independently and carry out selected actions without having to rely on the help of others. The type and frequency of use is very individual and can also be changed as the illness progresses. Typical uses include serving drinks (if oral intake of drinks and food is possible), opening doors, moving (in the sense of “repositioning”) their own arms, adjusting their glasses or scratching their head (which is no longer possible due to the loss of their own arm functions). The individuality and variability in the usage behavior of arm robots show a certain analogy to communication systems. Both forms of assistance technology are characterized by very personal application scenarios.

In principle, the costs can be covered by statutory and private health insurance. Experience has shown that a detailed description of the care objective and the successful trial is necessary (in cooperation with the specialist provider), as the cost bearers (especially smaller health insurance companies) do not yet have extensive experience and numerous unanswered questions need to be clarified.