“Company tries to get gun classed as medical device”

From NewScientist via BoingBoing:

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.

“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.

And to think it’s still 3.75 months until April 1.

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