vi input mode in command line Matlab?

I have these lines in my ~/.inputrc:

set editing-mode vi 
set keymap vi

This allows me to use vi keybindings in every program that uses GNU readlines for text input. Examples: python, irb, sftp, bash, sqlite3, and so on. It makes working with a command line a breeze. Matlab doesn't use readlines, but vi keybindings would be amazing to have when debugging or working interactively. Is there an existing solution?

I tend to use matlab -nosplash -nodesktop from the command line and that got me thinking: would it be possible to write a wrapper that does use readlines and pass the input to matlab? (If I have to implement this, I'd probably prefer to do so in Ruby.)

Update:

Thanks for the help. This almost works:

# See also: http://bogojoker.com/readline/
require 'readline'

puts 'Starting Matlab...'
io = IO.popen('matlab -nosplash -nodesktop 2>&1', 'w+')

while input_line = Readline.readline('>> ', true)
  io.puts input_line
  puts io.gets
end

But it only reads a single line from Matlab at a time (because I'm using gets). Any ideas on how to get everything until the next time it's waiting for input? Here's what's happening (I'm entering stuff at the >> prompt):

Starting Matlab...
>> 1

>> 2
                            < M A T L A B (R) >
>> 3
                  Copyright 1984-2009 The MathWorks, Inc.
>> 4
                 Version 7.8.0.347 (R2009a) 32-bit (glnx86)
>> 5
                             February 12, 2009
>> 6

>> 7

>> 8
  To get started, type one of these: helpwin, helpdesk, or demo.
>> 9
  For product information, visit www.mathworks.com.
>> 0

>> 1