In Case You Missed It: Health


For each product category in the Consumer Guide, we’ve collected a handful of items that appeared in NM in 2014. In some cases the original article is longer, so we’ve provided the link, in case you’d like to look up more information:

Scrubber
(July, SCI Life)
The-ScrubberTracking in mud after a rainstorm no longer needs to be a common affair, and no, we’re not talking about the usual hand-washing solution. We’re talking about the Scrubber, an automated wheelchair tire scrubber created by Inn2care, a mobility product company based in the Netherlands. This brilliant invention, made of stainless steel and intended exclusively for outdoor use, turns on automatically when you roll onto the Scrubber’s conveyor belt, which activates multiple top and side brushes and two spray nozzles for water after being connected to a garden hose.

The water pressure used on the Scrubber can also be customized, as can the brushes, and it has a nice safety feature — it uses no electricity — with the weight of the wheelchair activating the machine instead. The cost for the Scrubber — a cool $247.

software.inn2care.com/

Peristeen
(April, Para/Medic)
Manufactured by Coloplast, the Peristeen system introduces tap water into the colon, which loosens stool and acts as a mild irritant, causing peristalsis — wave-like colon contractions that move and evacuate stool. The entire system fits into a travel bag the size of a shaving kit. The system was introduced in Europe in 2006 and received FDA approval for use in the United States in October 2012. It includes a 1,000 ml. clear plastic water bag, which is filled with lukewarm tap water that travels via tubing through a small hand-held control unit and a squeeze-ball hand-pump to another tube with a twist-lock on the end that connects to a hydrophilic-coated rectal catheter.

The system is designed to be used while sitting on the commode. The user (or an attendant) gently inserts the catheter into the rectum and squeezes the hand pump with the control dial on the “balloon” setting. This inflates a Foley-style balloon inside the rectum that keeps the catheter in place and ensures that water travels into the colon rather than squirting out — a common problem with enemas. Next, the dial is turned to the “water” setting. Squeezing the hand pump puts water into the colon. The water bag, marked in 100 ml. increments, enables monitoring the correct amount of water. When the water is in the colon, the dial is turned to “deflate,” the balloon empties and the catheter is removed.  Bowel evacuation takes place, on average, in 20-30 minutes. Peristeen is a prescription item and requires a 45-minute training session by a nurse or physician prior to its first use

www.coloplast.com/products/bladder-bowel/

GSIII-and-KSIIIGranstand
(September, Stories of Invention)
In 1983, Mary Boegel and her future husband, Bruce, began building standing frames in the garage of their rental house, distributing them among wheelchair tennis players. However, when Boegel initially demonstrated her standing frame to rehabilitation facilities, they balked at the idea, maintaining that standing programs should only be done in a clinical setting.

Over 30 years later, regular standing time is acknowledged as beneficial, and her company, Prime Engineering, is one of the industry leaders, offering a diverse selection of standing systems for users of all ages. The Granstand III is the latest version of the company’s original offering. It offers a smaller footprint, a durable frame and easy-to-use functionality that can be used by individuals of all sizes.

www.primeengineering.com

Nuprodx Shower Chairs
(September, Stories of Invention)
It’s been all but impossible to not run across an ad for the Nuprodx MULTICHAIR over the last decade. The portable bathing and commode chair line — now consisting of over 25 models — revolutionized travel for those in need of bath, shower and commode chairs, with 12,000 sold to date.

For inventor Bruce Hammer, 65, Nuprodx started on a trip from his home in San Francisco to New Jersey in the 1980s. A C6-7 quad, Hammer needed a bath bench that he could take on the road. “Being an architect and former motorcycle racer, I was good at modifying things,” he explains. “So, I took a standard bath bench apart and made it fit in my suitcase. ”

For the next decade, Hammer simply refined and built travel benches for himself. Then, in 1998, with seed money from his mother, he formed Nuprodx to manufacture and sell travel benches. “At my first Abilities Expo (Anaheim), I only had renderings of our first product, the MULTICHAIR 2000,” recalls Hammer. “But, people wanted it, so I knew I had a product that would sell.”

The current generation of MULTICHAIRs offers countless options — including wheels, tilt, leg rests and much more—all with the same ease of assembly and storage that has made Nuprodx an industry leader.

www.Nuprodx.com


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