Wheelchair Diffusion blog

“How you get around has a big impact on what things you can do and where you can go. Many people who have lived with a disability for a long time, have found that careful consideration of what is the best way to get around has been a key to their independence.”

Some good reading for those who are thinking about getting a walking aid or wheelchair to help with those long hauls. The post was written by a good friend and a legend in the field of assisted mobility, Jean Minkel, MA, PT.

Canes To Wheelchairs: Considering Mobility Devices

Recently I had the opportunity to spend some time in a small nearby hamlet. Upon turning onto the main business street of the village, I was immediately taken by the presence of two large memorials at the intersection. On both sides of these stones were engraved the names of those who had perished in the service of our country.

The list was amazingly large considering the small population from which it was drawn. Standing there, reading and touching the names, I was filled with a sense of melancholy and pride. Melancholy over how many had sacrificed their lives, and pride in this small community that had offered up so many of its own over so long a time.
Many of the family names on these monuments were familiar and are common in the area even today. One can not help thinking about the emotions that must be evoked in the minds and hearts of their descendants and family members whenever they view these monuments.

When viewing these memorials some things really start to make sense. You begin to understand that heroes are not defined on playing fields, or on the screens of movie theaters. Rather, they are shaped in our American cities and hamlets, inspired by those around them, and perpetuated by those they have served. What a wonderful legacy these heroes are.

This Memorial Day, take some time between the barbequed chicken and the toasted marshmellows to visit and to reflect over a nearby memorial. The meaning of hero and of patriot will never be clearer to you.

For those of you who intend to unfurl Old Glory this Memorial Day, there is an excellent free publication on How To Display Our Flag, offered by United Spinal Association (Formerly Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association.)

A team of super geeks at Brigham Young University are working hard at building an autonomous robot for entry in this June’s Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). What caught my attention was the fact that they are using parts from an Invacare Arrow wheelchair in their system.

The team is comprised of a group of electrical and computer engineering students, and Dr. D.J. Lee, Associate Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, who serves as the faculty advisor to the team.

While this contest has no direct connect to wheelchairs, autonomous control and robotics are often considered as a someday enhancement (in some way) to powered wheelchairs. Contests like the IGVC and students like those on the Y-Clops team will help to move that “someday” up on the calendar.

This competition simulates a car traveling autonomously down a roadway. Robots must complete the course and avoid obstacles without any human interaction. Here are some details-

Y-Clops* is an autonomous robot designed by a twelve man team of BYU electrical engineering undergraduates. It is designed to navigate obstacles for the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC). These obstacles include pot holes, sand traps, cones, fences, and staying within a track outlined by white lines.

To win this competition this robot uses three main components:

* Camera for data collection
* Computer for interpreting the data
* Electric wheelchair frame for navigation

I’ll see if I can get one of the team members to post their progress in the comment area.
Go gettem Y-Clops Team!

I recently commented on the “Angry Gimp” blog regarding working for non-profit service organizations. Poor Angry had busted her butt finding this job with a service org and was then frustrated and disillusioned to the point of quiting. My advice to her was not to give up on the service organizations. That helping people when and how you can, one at a time, makes a difference, and that those times are what it’s all about. Well, this is one of those times.

Over the last few days I have been helping out a local Make A Wish Foundation chapter. There is a young boy with profound and complex developmental issues who would like to go out onto a beach. His conventional wheelchair and a few other things are getting in the way of this happening. We (United Spinal Association) were contacted by Make A Wish who needed assistance resolving the wheelchair and assistive technology issues related to this wish. So, I have been spending some time helping to make a wish come true.

The two orgs make a pretty good team so count on this happening for the child. I’ll blog it as it goes.

Something new from Radical Mobility of South Africa. The Predator 4×4 is an all terrain powered wheelchair with four wheel drive. The company and the wheelchair were both developed by Martin Brown, a C3-6 spinal cord injured quadriplegic.

For those not familiar with 4 wheel drive wheelchairs. Notice the front wheels in the picture. They are turned, almost as if they were steering the chair. That’s because they are. A traditional powerchair has free-floating casters. Turning is dependent on more or less power being supplied to either the right or left drive wheel. That doesn’t work well in a 4×4, so the steering is accomplished in much the same way as a car. The front wheels are turned by the front motors. A pretty neat solution but a wider turning radius than you would experience in a conventional powered wheelchair.

Here’s the teaser that the manufacturer tosses up on this chair-

The mean beast of wheelchairs, yep it is the ALL TERRAIN mother of Power Wheelchairs. Sand, gravel, hills, grass.

The manufacturer is hoping to sell into the U.S. market at some time but no date on that is available yet. Here are some of the specs on this grabber.

• Pure 4-Wheel Drive
• Heavy duty durable frame (hand made)
• Rugged powder coated steel frame
• Custom-built 4 x 250watt 24V motors
• Sealed lead-acid batteries 70 Amp/hr
• Dynamic Control® Shark unit
• Interchangeable control (Left / Right hand option)
• Can reach speeds up to 7-8 Km/h
• Travel up to 10 km
• 150mm ground clearance
• Any terrain, more suited for outdoor
• 20 degree angle capability
• Options: –Power tilt in space –Power recline

Some of you may have noticed the new wrapper that Wheelchair Diffusion now lives in. The previous site went critical and melted down. In order to maintain the ecological balance of the blogosphere, it was promptly cleaned up and replaced with an environmentally friendly plant that includes Wordpress 2.0 and the award winning Dapit Hapon theme by Gail Dela Cruz.

I am truly amazed that people have not had enough of this wheelchair issue that has been going on for a number of years now. Think about it? Being tied to a ball and chain of a wheelchair for five long years. Even when everyone from your doctor and therapist to your manicurist know it is the wrong chair, or just an unreliable piece of crap, or both. Why would anyone or any group of people inflict this on others? Why would the rest of us sit by and allow this affliction to be perpetuated?

Everyone has the right and should be given the opportunity to move around outside of their own four walls and to expand, to chase dreams, or to just be a part of the community. Keeping people jailed in their homes for lack of the right wheelchair or for lack of repairs is an abomination. The morality of this makes sense only to those Medicare practitioners of Machiavellian politics who assume that denying wheelchairs will save them countless dollars regardless of the suffering and regardless of the expense to other programs and people. Well, maybe old Machiavelli was right. Maybe the end does justify the means. Let’s muster the means and put an end to this.

We (United Spinal Association) are getting ready to go another political round with Medicare. We will be trying to get some legislative actions going that would remove the heinous “In the Home” rule that Medicare uses as their guide and built in disqualifier. We will be setting up an action center where people can sign up to receive emailed alerts containing information on how to support this effort. There will be a number of disability related organizations and coalitions joining us. What we need more than anything is groundswell, public consensus, word from the trenches. That’s what really works.

I will be posting details on how to sign up on these pages. Be a voice. Be an advocate. Who wants in?