Researching for life’s improvements is the goal for every engineer, this explains the countless hours engineers spend inside an office or a laboratory. Although people think of engineers as only creators of lifeless technology, many of biomedical engineers specialized in technology for the living. Meeting between medicine and engineering, biomedical engineers find solutions for medicine and, in some cases, people’s disabilities. These disabilities appear from accidents in the workplace to war zones on a battlefield. Veterans lose limbs during duty, and many biomedical engineers study and attempt to find a proper solution for the veterans. One of the solutions is an orthopedic limb and artificial extension of a body’s lost limb. Even though the artificial limbs are not as close to the real limb, if hospitals and families encourage veterans to obtain an orthopedic limb, then the veterans will get a longer life. Veterans already risk an enormous amount of their life for their country; ethically, everyone must thank them for their service, and providing more family time is the best appreciation of the brave man and woman who serve their country. While the idea of serving one’s country sounds inspiring, the decision to enlist in the army brings possible dangerous consequences. Soldiers who serve on the front lines get hurt on duty; thus many of them return with scars, or an even worse toll, lost limbs. Ethically, people in veteran’s homes should provide a way for which the veterans continue their life back home. Debates about what an orthopedic limb can do reoccurs every day, yet the basic orthopedic limbs veterans can use for basic functions and movement can not be ignored and must be more defended in the intense debate of artificial limbs. In fact, it shows no surprise that the use of prosthetic limbs seems like a common solution for amputees and veterans who lost an extremity. Consequently, A group of researchers compared the mortality rate among veterans who accepted a prosthetic limb and veterans who declined a prosthetic limb.
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After a three-year period from a lower limb surgery the veterans received, the group who received the prosthetic limb had fewer deaths than the group without the prosthetic limbs (Kurichi et al, 2015). In other words, the prosthetic limbs were a factor for declining deaths of veterans after they lost an extremity. Patients without prosthetics were more likely to die after a one-year period after the surgery. Ethically this means that the community should give veterans every means possible to recover from a tragedy. Moreover, giving veterans the necessity of motion could help them reestablish their normal life. Although prosthetic limbs seem to be the answer, the price for this technology is the major setback for patients or veterans who might use these artificial limbs. Prices for new and innovative prosthetics can reach the high thousands of dollars, depending on which type the veteran needs. Researchers estimated that for; “unilateral upper limb average costs are $31,129 and $117,440, unilateral lower limb costs are $82,251 and $228,665, and multiple limb costs are $130,890 and $453,696” (Blough et al, 2010). In other words, orthopedic limbs can cost a fortune for veterans who do not possess a certain amount of money. An average veteran is not likely to pay such an enormous sum of money, and this causes research for better orthopedics to decline since the demand is not enough to suffice the suppliers. One can understand why some companies do not supply orthopedic limbs because the market is not big enough for competitive prices. Nevertheless, the government could help the companies responsible for orthopedic limbs and either give research money or tax the people more. But since the people without government intervention can resolve the problem of money, communities as a whole must take responsibility on the matter. As a society, people need encouragement to donate to an organization that, with the help of medical insurance, help veterans obtain their artificial limbs. Adding to fundraise, researchers and engineers need to find cheaper processes and keep the artificial limbs simple and budget obtainable. The ethics surrounding the significant orthopedic cost problem show much greater importance than the money; furthermore, people should not turn away
After a three-year period from a lower limb surgery the veterans received, the group who received the prosthetic limb had fewer deaths than the group without the prosthetic limbs (Kurichi et al, 2015). In other words, the prosthetic limbs were a factor for declining deaths of veterans after they lost an extremity. Patients without prosthetics were more likely to die after a one-year period after the surgery. Ethically this means that the community should give veterans every means possible to recover from a tragedy. Moreover, giving veterans the necessity of motion could help them reestablish their normal life. Although prosthetic limbs seem to be the answer, the price for this technology is the major setback for patients or veterans who might use these artificial limbs. Prices for new and innovative prosthetics can reach the high thousands of dollars, depending on which type the veteran needs. Researchers estimated that for; “unilateral upper limb average costs are $31,129 and $117,440, unilateral lower limb costs are $82,251 and $228,665, and multiple limb costs are $130,890 and $453,696” (Blough et al, 2010). In other words, orthopedic limbs can cost a fortune for veterans who do not possess a certain amount of money. An average veteran is not likely to pay such an enormous sum of money, and this causes research for better orthopedics to decline since the demand is not enough to suffice the suppliers. One can understand why some companies do not supply orthopedic limbs because the market is not big enough for competitive prices. Nevertheless, the government could help the companies responsible for orthopedic limbs and either give research money or tax the people more. But since the people without government intervention can resolve the problem of money, communities as a whole must take responsibility on the matter. As a society, people need encouragement to donate to an organization that, with the help of medical insurance, help veterans obtain their artificial limbs. Adding to fundraise, researchers and engineers need to find cheaper processes and keep the artificial limbs simple and budget obtainable. The ethics surrounding the significant orthopedic cost problem show much greater importance than the money; furthermore, people should not turn away