Maria, a resident at the Scope Birchwood residential care home in Chesham, has no significant movement ability and is unable to speak clearly due to cerebral palsy. Wheelchair bound during the day, Maria uses an electronic communication aid to control equipment in her room, including lights, heating and TV; the device can also be used to access a mobile phone. She operates the device using her left knee — the part of her body over which she has greatest control — to activate a pressure switch.
Although the communication aid has text/symbol-to-speech capability, Maria sometimes finds it easier to communicate with regular visitors and Birchwood staff by pointing at a communication chart attached to her wheelchair tray. To make this easier, Remap designed and fitted a plastic mounting to secure the communication aid at the back of the tray, so Maria can use both the chart and the aid at the same time.
A keen photographer was left paralysed on his left side following a stroke. Now dependent on a wheelchair for mobility, he could not hold or operate his camera successfully. We adapted his wheelchair to receive a camera mount, which allowed him to use his camera with one hand and continue his passion for photography.
A stroke left a lady client confined to an electric wheelchair and with very limited arm movement, especially on her right side. Because she could not see over her shoulder, she had difficulty reversing the wheelchair in the confines of her house without crashing into things. She contacted Remap, and we mounted a cycle mirror onto the wheelchair using the flexible “gooseneck” from a table mounted microphone and a simple clamp. The client can alter the mirror position by simply bending the mounting.
The wheelchair pushchair attachment we made for a disabled mother has aroused interest all over the world thanks to the popularity of our online video. Now another new mum in a similar situation has had her own version produced by an Israeli company, with Remap South Bucks engineer Roger Thorn providing design guidance via email. You can see the new version in action here:
[Please note that Remap cannot currently supply this type of equipment. For availability of similar devices, see here.]
Tim is a father with paralysed legs who looks after his 18-month-old twins on his own during the day. Frustrated that he could only take the twins out in his car, rather than to the park or along local footpaths, he bought a bicycle trailer to be towed using his powered wheelchair.
However, the trailer tow bar was designed to attach to one side of the rear wheel of the bike and was curved to allow a bike to turn freely. To fit the trailer to the wheelchair required a straight pivoting tow bar, which is where Remap came in. We designed and fitted an “upside down” tow hitch at the back of the wheelchair using a quick-release axle pin to lock the tow bar in position. Tim positions his wheelchair so that the trailer tow bar is on his right side, and then has to manoeuvre the tow bar into the socket behind him, which he cannot see. To make this task easier, a golf ball is used as a handle because it is quite tactile and gives good control over the tow bar. Having attached the trailer by feel, Tim clips on a safety strap and away they all go!
A gentleman with multiple sclerosis (MS) lives on the first floor of his home because that is were his bedroom and bathroom are. Unfortunately, there is a step down and then back up at the top of the stairs between the two rooms, preventing him from moving between them in his wheelchair. We designed a fold-down infill “bridge”, complete with handrail and gas struts, that allows him to travel safely over the landing to the bathroom.
A lady was unable to take her husband, who had survived a stroke, into their garden because she was not strong enough to push his wheelchair over a standard access ramp. We installed this specially elongated ramp with a gentler gradient that she can manage.
We were referred to this gentleman, a double leg amputee, by an occupational therapist at Wycombe Hospital. Initially our task was to install an access ramp. While we were there, the client mentioned that he was keen on floor exercises, but needed help to move unaided from his wheelchair to the floor and back. Remap designed these steps and arm rests to enable him to do this.
Roger Thorn and Roger Allen of the South Bucks Panel won first prize at Remap’s 2012 national AGM for their wheelchair-pushchair adaptor for a disabled mum. The prize was presented by Remap president Professor Heinz Wolff. Susan Iwanek, chief executive officer of Remap, said: “The judges felt that the solution was a very clever one which, while quite complex, produced something which is extremely easy for the client to use and makes a substantial improvement to her life. It was felt to be particularly well engineered and attractive aesthetically.”
Professor Heinz Wolff presents the Remap prize to Roger Thorn (centre) and Roger Allen (right)
Pushchair adaptor helps disabled mum take her baby out in a wheelchair
[Please note that Remap cannot currently supply this equipment. For availability of similar devices, see here.]
A mother with a spinal cord injury is living independently at home with her new baby, with the help of a wheelchair-pushchair adaptor built by Remap South Buckinghamshire, a charity that designs and makes customised equipment for people with disabilities.
Cheryse Wandslyte was involved in a car accident during pregnancy, in which she sustained a cervical spinal cord injury affecting the strength and movement of her arms and legs. This makes it difficult for her to walk over distance, so that she has to use a wheelchair for mobility. Despite the severity of Cheryse’s injuries, her baby girl was born healthily in Stoke Mandeville Hospital five months after the accident.
Cheryse was now faced with the dilemma of how to care for her new baby upon discharge from hospital—in particular, how to carry and look after the baby when out and about in a wheelchair. Nicola Carrig, an occupational therapist (OT) at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, asked the local branch of Remap if they could help. The agreed solution was for Cheryse to find an off-the-shelf lightweight pushchair with a strong enough frame to be pushed using a manually operated wheelchair, and for Remap volunteers Roger Thorn and Roger Allen to design and build a safe, effective attachment mechanism.
The two Rogers’ pushchair adaptor consists of two purpose built aluminium spurs that snap on and off mountings on the wheelchair. The braked rear wheels of the pushchair are lifted off the ground during attachment, so steering is controlled directly from the wheelchair. The adaptor enables the pushchair to tilt up and down, allowing Cheryse to navigate up and down dropped kerbs. Because the pushchair is detachable, it can be still be pushed as normal by family and friends; the mounting spurs also detach easily so the pushchair can be collapsed to fit in the boot of a car.
Because Cheryse has impaired right hand functionality—also the result of the accident—Remap refined the initial prototype loading and anti-detachment mechanism so that Cheryse can attach and detach the pushchair easily using only her left hand.
According to Cheryse, the pushchair adaptor was “a lifesaver” in allowing her to live independently. “It’s marvellous: I can take the baby out on my own, without needing carers. It’s a simple design that I can use easily despite my hands not being brilliant. The Remap people have been nice to talk to and very good at working out what was needed.”
OT Nicola Carrig said: “Remap is quite well known at Stoke Mandeville. They are enthusiastic, proactive, helpful, knowledgeable and discreet. They listened carefully to what Cheryse wanted and she is thrilled with the result.”
Cheryse is now working as a volunteer in patient support at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and is making a good recovery from her injuries.
Remap South Bucks welcomes requests from healthcare professionals, social services and carers for help in providing customised equipment for people with disabilities. It also welcomes volunteers prepared to give some time designing and building such equipment.
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