Tetraplegic man creates manual wheelchair with suspension

For five years after his spinal cord injury, the CSU graduate had been using an antenna-propelled manual wheelchair, before he switched to a power chair. That's when he came up with his idea. “While I was attending CSU I realized ‘Oh man, why do I have somebody pushing me around? I would rather jump into one of these powered chairs so I can do everything on my own,’” said Morris. “And that’s when I made the realization of ‘Hey, why does my powered chair have suspension and not my manual chair?’ The quality of ride is so much nicer when a chair has suspension.”

After this revelation, he set out to gather support for his new idea.

On the Fall of 2014, Morris created and became the CEO of a company called QuadshoX, seeking to provide rear-wheel suspension for manual wheelchairs. He partnered with two engineering students who he met through the Venture Accelerator Program. Josh Gladfelter and Garret Ehrick have been responsible for the engineering and design aspects of the product.

“We are on our final round of prototypes,” Morris said. “We will get our final in here soon and we have 10 subjects ready to rock. They’re excited.”

Morris' invention won the largest prize in the 2015 Venture Accelerator Showcase, including $2,500 in legal services and $2,000 to use toward his business. He also received $3,000 from the Business Advancement Fund to help cover the costs of the company's first round of prototypes, the trademark, a website, and a video for a Kickstarter campaign launched.

More info: www.quadshox.com

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/2KKEls2