MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Feb. 6, 2013—For wheelchair users, the winter season can be challenging and limiting whether trying to get around on busy city streets or in the countryside. The small front wheels sink into the snow making the wheelchair difficult to move and steer, leading many to instead choose to sit the winter out in the confines of their home. Wheelblade skis are changing that. The only product of its kind in the world, Wheelblades were designed by Swiss inventor Patrick Mayer out of what he describes as “sheer need.”
“I'm a quadriplegic myself as a result of a snowboarding accident and it has always made me very sad that wintertime restricted my mobility so severely, especially as I have always loved winter and the snow,” Mayer said. “Wheelblades came from my desire to no longer have to face those limits in any season. The skis have made that dream come true and I want to share them with the many others who face the same difficulties I've come up against.”
Small, high-quality skis that use a clamp lock to secure to the front wheels and with bindings to fit various sizes of wheels, including children’s strollers, Wheelblades are lightweight, handy, and portable and can be installed in seconds. They function in much the same way as snowshoes do by spreading weight over a greater surface area and allowing the front wheels to glide more easily, while steering works similar to a ski.
Health care company Ottobock is the exclusive global distributor of the Wheelblades and is pleased to bring to the market a unique product that significantly improves mobility and as a result, quality of life. “Wheelblades are one of those unique products that is easy to get very excited about because we realize the immediate impact it can have on so many lives,” says Matt Swiggum, vice president of mobility solutions at US HealthCare. “It’s a perfect combination of a simple to use product that results in a substantially higher level of mobility and we are happy to be able to bring that to the many wheelchair users who have been frustrated by having to limit their lives because of the winter weather.”
Minnesota-based Ottobock was established in 1958 as the Americas corporate headquarters of Otto Bock HealthCare, GmbH, based in Duderstadt, Germany. Ottobock has more than 5,000 employees worldwide in 46 branches and produces over 50,000 types of prosthetic and orthotic components, mobility and rehabilitation products. Go online to www.ottobockus.com.
