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Toilet seats with wings for easier transfers

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2016-03-29 21:03

About the solution

“The defining moment was when I was sitting on a toilet seat trying to figure out what I could possibly use to support some portion of my weight and lessen the severe weight bearing pain in my knees after a day of snowboarding 30,000 vertical feet on double black diamond moguls. You see, I have spent a lifetime enjoying extreme sports and I have the knee surgery scars to prove it. When I lowered to the toilet seat that day it was painful, but from experience I knew that raising was always more painful. In the end, the only thing I could find for support was the front of the toilet seat. Wingman was as much for my father as it is today for me. It was after I had seen that he (at age 87) had worn the paint off his toilet seat with his palms supporting himself while lowering and raising that I designed a toilet seat with wings – Wingman”, the innovator explained.

When Stephen realized he had this need, he started prototyping. “The first prototype was easy. It only took a few months to create a 3D model and print it out in ABS plastic with a 3D printer. The follow on prototypes required careful material selection for strength, safety, ease of molding and then the creation of hard tooling. This process has taken a couple of years. The single most important problem was realizing that to achieve the strength required the seat was heavy and to prevent it from coming down to hard it required a dampening device or torsion spring to lessen the weight when lowering or raising”, he said.

Then, using his savings, the inventor founded his own company – Wingman.

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2n4LZpa

More info: http://axs-wingman.com/Home_OYQ4.html

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This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Stephen Cowen, born in 1958, in USA, invented toilet seats to help people with physical disability make transfers from the toilet more easily. Stephen was inspired by his own needs and also by his father's.

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