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Occupational Health and Safety  » Inventors Create Wheelchair Innovations for Safety,

Inventors Create Wheelchair Innovations for Safety,

Article:

The prolonged use of a wheelchair is a reality for over 100

million people across the globe due to disabilities brought

about by illness, accident or advanced age. Among the challenges

faced by this large and diverse group are; lack of access to

adequate wheelchairs due to poverty, the risk of serious and

even life threatening injury due to wheelchair roll-away or

wheel pinning, and impediments to travel caused by the

cumbersome nature of standard wheelchairs.

Fortunately, there are innovators at work who have in recent

years addressed these issues through some truly amazing

wheelchair inventions.

Don Schoendorfer, a mechanical engineer from Orange County,

California, was aware that many of the poorest people around the

world live on less than $2 a day, and that when they were

needed, standard wheelchairs were financially out of reach at

several hundred dollars per unit. Schoendorfer had a goal; to

create the world's cheapest wheelchair for the benefit of poor

people with disabilities.

Tinkering for three hours every morning in his garage workshop,

Schoendorfer struggled to create a design for a wheelchair that

would measure up to harsh terrains and climates at a fraction of

the cost of standard wheelchairs. Finally inspiration came in

the form of the ubiquitous white plastic lawn chair. The

inventor used this low cost item as the centerpiece of his

design, equipping his inexpensive chair with two sturdy bike

tires and a custom designed chassis.

The result? A durable, low cost wheelchair that can be shipped

anywhere in the world for under fifty dollars. Schoendorfer's

nonprofit group, Free Wheelchair Mission, has delivered more

than 75,000 to people in Angola, India, Peru, and Iraq. His

mission? According to Schoendorfer, "I have a small goal. Twenty

million chairs given away free by 2010."

In Minnesota, farmer turned inventor - Jerry Ford, was

approached by his son Zack who worked in a nursing home and had

noticed the dangers of elderly residents forgetting to set the

brakes on their manual wheelchairs before attempting to stand.

The result was often a bad fall as the wheelchair would

roll-away from the resident as they applied weight to the

chair's arms when attempting to rise. A problem encountered by

elders in other areas as well, especially among those who suffer

from senility, Alzheimer's disease or just forgetfulness.

U.S. Congressman Gil Gutknecht of Minnesota has drawn attention

to the problem, pointing out that a fall of this kind is

"dangerous for the elderly, especially those in nursing homes,

who are often fragile. Just one fall can be a painful death

sentence."

Ford set to work almost immediately and in just a few hours, and

with just $19 worth of spare parts, turned a mental picture of a

new wheelchair automatic braking system into a reality. Ford's

invention is a revolutionary wheelchair safety system that

allows the wheelchair to move when a patient is onboard, but

which auto-sets a brake as soon as the user rises. The system

does not compromise patient comfort or safety by causing

pressure points and allows the wheelchair to operate normally

including normal folding.

According to Ford, "our automatic wheelchair brakes and wheel

locks help prevent falls, free up staff and improve quality of

life... and that's gotta make a guy feel good."

On the other side of the world in Australia, Nick Morris is also

innovating with an eye toward reducing wheelchair related

injuries. His invention, the Vulcan Wheel, is an ergonomically

designed one-piece extruded aluminum wheelchair wheel for use in

general travel and sport. The unique Vulcan design has

streamlined both the push rim and wheel rim of a conventional

wheelchair wheel and provides the user with increased surface

area to propel the wheelchair.

Morris was injured in a motorcycle accident at age 16 and

credits his involvement in sport as the key to his

rehabilitation. Nick's passion for sport led him to design an

improvement on the conventional wheelchair wheel, in conjunction

with co-inventor David Goding.

Conventional wheelchair wheels have a base construction made up

of wheel rim, a push rim and a number of adjoining pieces

connecting the rims together. In order to apply force to move a

wheelchair, the user grips the push or wheel rim to propel the

wheelchair forward. The wheel rim and push rim are joined

together by five joins around the wheel causing a vast potential

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for hands to get caught or jammed in the gaps. This causes

trauma and injury to the hands and fingers, often resulting in

friction burns, dislocation of the fingers, and skin abrasions.

It is also not uncommon for parts of clothing, or objects such

as sticks and debris, to get caught in the gap. Secondly, there

is insufficient room for placing the palms of the hand on the

push rim, as there is not enough surface area between the wheel

rim and push rim.

Morris and Goding's ergonomic design compliments the use of palm

and fingers and reduces the risk of trauma to the hand as there

is no area for fingers, thumbs or external objects to get jammed

in between the two rims.

The new wheel also weighs less due to a decreased number of

components, and is less likely to break down. Its one-piece

structure also provides the push rim with an additional degree

of stability, making it less likely to buckle and flex when

pressure is exerted during pushing, making it ideal for

wheelchair sports.

Elsewhere the needs of those who travel with wheelchairs have

been reviewed with an eye toward innovation. An Augusta Georgia

firm offers a "wheelchair in a bag" that folds and unfolds in

seconds and weighs in at just 17 lbs. The lightweight chair is

made possible due to the use of aircraft aluminum, which

provides the necessary strength with a fraction of the weight of

steel. These compact chairs can be bagged and carried with a

handle or shoulder strap and include features such as flip back

armrests, folding footrests and adjustable wheel locks.

Everything you would expect in a full weight chair.

Don Schoendorfer, Jerry Ford, Nick Morris and David Goding have

made significant contributions through their inventions, which

have improved access, efficiency and safety for wheelchair users

throughout the United State and across the globe. And with the

21st Century still in its infancy there is every reason to

believe there are more wheelchair innovations in store.

About the author:

Jerry Ford is the Founder and CEO of a Minnesota based company

specializing in automatic brake and

safety systems for manual wheelchairs.