Wijit - lever drive & braking system for manual wheelchairs

Initially paralyzed from the neck down, Brian was confined to and dependent upon wheelchairs. One day in rehab, Brian sat staring at a water fountain, unable to propel his chair forward to get a drink. Becoming increasingly frustrated about his inability to move his wheelchair, he had an epiphany that adding a lever to a wheelchair could solve his and other disabled peoples mobility challenges.

“To be able to drive a wheelchair was impossible for me,” says Watwood. “I couldn’t feel it with my arms and hands.”

And this is how he got the idea for Wijit.

Watwood, who dabbled in mechanics when he was growing up, had no formal engineering training, but that didn’t stop him from pursuing his big idea. He invested his own money in the project. Then, Brian spent three-and-a-half years working with designers and engineers to develop a prototype.

The inventor began selling Wijits in 1997, and the product has gone through several redesigns since then. He took the frame-based Wijit off the market for more than five years, and launched the new wheel-based Wijit in 2006.

What about you, do you have any solutions? Please share them with the Patient Innovation community!

More info: http://www.innovationshealth.com/products/wijit/

Adapted from: http://news.ucsc.edu/2011/10/review-fall-2011-alumni-watwood-taylor.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnvWmw2Mmrk