It doesn’t end! The old debate of “is standing beneficial” for people with paralysis and spinal cord injuries. These debates invariably lead to discussions on the benefits of standers, or sit to stand technology, standing frames, et al.
I have been around assistive technology for, hell, I hate to admit, over thirty years. The debate was around when I first came onto the scene and it’s still around today. I’m going to make this easy on everyone who is scratching their heads on this issue- Yes, it’s been proven! Standers work, medically, physiologically, emotionally, functionally, developmentally, and are cost efficient compared to ongoing in-clinic based therapy.
Even more important- The scores of standing device users I have known over the years have universally confirmed that they have benefited from use of a standing device. OK, so users get it and understand the advantages, but what about others, doctors who we call on to prescribe one, therapists who we need to recommend one, funders who need to be convinced that there is benefit from use of one? That’s a matter of educating those people. And that’s your job! Check out the wealth of information on the Altimate Medical site.
The majority of clinicians have very little understanding about these devices. Why? Because the average physician or therapist has very little contact with the population that would utilize and benefit from use of a stander. Funders on the other hand are almost clueless except for rhetoric contained in their coverage policies and manuals.
Getting the message across means doing your homework. Bone up on it, know more than the people you approach, and don’t be shy. Grab up literature on the benefits of standing and quote it, pass it along to your care providers and to your funders. Get your funding strategy together and make your case so clear that it will command the ascent of all those involved. And by all means make your job easier by hooking up with doctors and therapists who have seen it and done it before.
Looking for a place to start your standing information hunt? Check out this page on the Altimate Medical website. It’s loaded with information and a great starting place.
Argo Medical Technologies Ltd. does far more than restore mobility to people with severe walking impairments. By enabling wheelchair users to stand, walk, and climb stairs, we restore dignity, health, inclusion, and self-esteem.
ReWalk™ is a wearable, motorized quasi robotic suit. Partially concealable under clothing, ReWalk provides user-initiated mobility – leveraging advanced motion sensors, sophisticated robotic control algorithms, on-board computers, real-time software, actuation motors, tailored rechargeable batteries and composite materials.
For those interested, here are the requirements as stated by the manufacturer:
What can you do with that old powered wheelchair once it’s worth nothing on E-bay or Craigs List.
Well, if you live in a part of the country where snow has been known to cover your walks and driveways you can automate that old bomber and have it go out and blow away the white stuff. Clear it out, while you stay cozy inside with a hot toddy or a steaming cup of java. Sound good?
That’s what engineer Jimmy Bui from Lincoln Nebraska did. Using the base and electronics from an old powered wheelchair, the remote control from a toy airplane, and adding a Honda HS35 snowblower to the front did the trick.
“The robot, called JNK, has “WALL-E” proportions. The bottom of an electric wheelchair serves as its base. Bui controls it (the robot’s not sentient … yet) with a remote control originally used for a toy airplane. The robot’s antenna is propped up with a chopstick, and the motor is covered by a plastic cake dome purchased at Sam’s Club.”
Hey, good for Jimmy. He can now chill in his house while the repatriated wheelchair takes care of business.
From Danish designer Ulrik Svenningsen comes the X30 manual wheelchair.
This wheelchair was especially designed to combat some of life’s punishment for being a wheelchair user. What are they? Shoulder and upper extremity injuries caused by the un-natural motion of pushing a conventional manual wheelchair. And, even more upper extremity injuries caused by the need to transfer in and out of a wheelchair using arms only. Try it sometime!
How did he do it? Take a closer look at the image. The push cranks, not push rims, are tucked in tight and inline with the user’s shoulders. In conventional configurations the wheelchair user must reach outward, back, and push forward and down placing a good deal of strain on shoulders. The cranks used to propel the chair also offer a significantly more shoulder friendly motion than the bizarre shoulder gyrations used in conventional rim pushing.
The wheels appear to be placed in a forward position placing the axle closer to the anatomical hip joint instead of somewhere behind it for better balance and performance.
To lighten the load on the old arms when transferring, the designer has cambered the wheels in under the wheelchair seat. That means that there is less distance to go for the transfer and less demand on the old uppers.
Designer Ulrik Svenningsen gets a well done for this one. Not only for hitting the mark for aesthetics but also for incorporating some real world solutions into the X30 wheelchair.
I know, when and where can you check one out? Don’t know, there is no release date as yet for this wheelchair.
They manufacture a kit that will adapt a 4-cycle 50cc Honda gas engine to a manual wheelchair. The kit comes with everything except for the engine, wheelchair, and battery. Remember this is an adapter kit. Here are some specs on a complete system:
Weight Approx. 85 lbs (including engine)
Total Weight Approx. 112 lbs. (including engine and chair)
Top Speed 10-15mph (depending on speed restrictor installed)
Range Approx. 20 miles on a tank full.
MPG Approx. 40 miles per gallon.
Fuel Unleaded Gasoline (NOT mixed) Recommended
Engine 4-cycle 50cc Honda tm or Honda tm clone with electric start and CV (automatic) transmission.
Hey, be careful with these things. Also, you may want to check with your state’s DMV. This may be considered a vehicle and not a wheelchair with that gas engine attached.
KaiserEDU.org announces its Fourth Annual Student Essay Contest. Submit an original essay on the topic below for a chance to win $1,000. Deadline for submission is March 8, 2010.
ESSAY TOPIC
It is January 2015. What do you see as the major health policy challenges still facing the United States? Please identify the top two priorities and discuss how they should be addressed.
CONTEST DETAILS
-Eligibility – Submissions will be accepted from undergraduate and graduate-level students enrolled in a university-based, degree-granting program at the time of submission.
-Essay length – Essays must not exceed 1,000 words in length and must be original work, prepared by one author only.
-Essay submission – Entries must be submitted online only. No emails will be accepted.
-Deadline – All essays must be submitted by March 8, 2010, 5 p.m. ET.
-Judging – Entries will be judged by a panel of professionals with experience in health policy and politics from inside and outside the Kaiser Family Foundation. Winners will be notified by May 1, 2010.
-Prizes – Undergraduate and graduate students will be judged separately and first-place winners will be awarded $1,000; second-place winners will receive $500.
I don’t know. I didn’t think anyone really had a handle on wheelchair breakdown and repair statistics. Then I ran across this study that was completed in 2009.
Here are some of the study highlights. Decide for yourself how the wheelchair industry is doing with product quality.
The study was conducted by Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh and was supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
The study included 2213 participants. All had spinal cord injuries (paraplegia or quadriplegia) and all used some type of wheelchair for more than 40 hours per week.
The Study:
Wheelchair Repairs, Breakdown, and Adverse Consequences for People With Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Laura A. McClure, MPT, Michael L. Boninger, MD, Michelle L. Oyster, MS, Steve Williams, MD, Bethlyn Houlihan, MSW, MPH, Jesse A. Lieberman, MD, Rory A. Cooper, PhD
Rehabil 2009;90:2034-8 The Objectives:
To investigate the frequency of repairs that occurred in a 6 month period and the consequences of break-downs on wheelchair users living with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), and to determine whether certain wheelchair and subject characteristics are associated with an increased number of repairs and adverse consequences.
Results:
Within a 6-month period, 44.8% of full-time wheelchair users completed a repair, and 8.7% had an adverse consequence occur.
An Interesting Impact
Of participants surveyed, 48.1% of manual wheelchair users and 82.2% of power wheelchair users did not have a backup wheelchair. Often there are no alternatives for a wheelchair user. If a wheelchair becomes unusable, persons are trapped inside of their home. It is often impossible for a wheelchair user to maintain a functional back-up wheelchair. CMS (Medicare) and many other insurance companies will not fund back-up wheelchairs. Added to this, many users must wait 5 years to get a new chair from funders. By that time the old wheelchair is likely to be in such bad shape that it can not be safely used, even as a back-up.
The trickle-down of all of this is much more than “How reliable” a wheelchair is. When wheelchairs go down on a regular basis the wheelchair user often goes down with it. So this is really about lost mobility and independence, it’s about injuries, lost opportunities for employment and education, and it’s about costs to wheelchair users and society that far exceed the price of repairing a wheelchair.
This beatup hospital style wheelchair has been modified with a Honda 165cc four stroke engine. The motorized wheelchair has a top speed of 68KPH. The video shows the wheelchair in action including the chain drive system that propels the chair.
New York, NY…..The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of Ampyra™ (dalfampridine, formerly known as fampridine SR, from Acorda Therapeutics) for its ability to improve walking speed in people with any type of multiple sclerosis.
Ampyra is the first therapy specifically approved to treat a symptom of MS, and as an oral drug it represents a big step forward for many people who may benefit from its use. Ampyra is also the first new FDA approved therapy for MS since 2004.
