1729 views
158 likes
1 purchase
1 copy
0 comments
Help Ukraine

Veteran invents special wheelchair for his wife

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2015-10-08 11:53

About the solution

Tankchair, equipped with heavy duty treads that allow for movement across all terrains is designed for outdoor activities, while Speedster is designed for urban and indoor use, enabling the user to get off the sidewalk and back onto the road.

It all started when Brad and his family went on a trip to the mountainside. Liz’s wheelchair wasn’t built to go through a mountainside with other people.

“My wife, one of the sweetest and most unselfish person who I have ever met in my life, told the family to go on without her. She said this with tears in her eyes.
I got so mad at the situation. It was not right in my mind that someone could not enjoy things because of a disability that was not her fault”.

Brad never went to college, nor studied engineering. It was his father-in-law who gave him the bright idea. “It was my father in-law who was looking at my latest creation, and said “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could put tracks on that like a tank?” As soon as he said that the bells and whistles when off in my head and I started searching for light weight track system. I have experience with tracked vehicles due to my time in the US Army during Desert Storm and being a front line infantryman in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle. I found a system for Trucks and ATV retrofit called Mattracks and decided to get a pair and see if I could make them work”. And it did.

Tankchairs have built in suspension that allow the chairs to roll over curbs and obstacles with relative ease. This suspension, along with 12 and a half inch wide treads, allows the chair to pass through most terrain with ease. Two motors give the chair enough power to move up snow-covered hills.
Soden's aim is to provide users the ability to live their lives however they may like. And thanks to him, his wife and many other disabled people are now able to do a lot of outdoor and indoor activities.

Tankchairs price start at $19,500.

Adapted from: http://read.bi/Ssfahv

More info: http://www.tankchair.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNV2n8hqF_c

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

Brad Soden, from USA, created two special wheelchairs to help his paralyzed wife, Liz, who had an accident that left her paraplegic, in 1999. The first wheelchair was made in 2007.

Tags associated to this solution