Vibration therapy for child
20th February 2020
A paediatric physiotherapist had been working, unsuccessfully, to improve the walking posture of a child with a rare condition. The child had become a toe walker and, despite focussed physiotherapy and targeted botox treatments, the toe walking remained. Her previous experience of working with autistic children hinted that perhaps a sensory element is connected with the child’s condition. She discovered that, if she activated the vibration mode on her phone and placed this against the sole of the child’s foot, they enjoyed the sensation to such an extent that if the phone was moved, the child would follow with their foot. With impending surgery to lengthen tendons, it was imperative to find an effective physiotherapeutic solution to offer the best possible outcome.
Chair controller button protector
29th January 2020
The controller for this chair has four buttons mounted close together. Two of the buttons resulted in the chair becoming completely horizontal which caused the client to panic. Her carers requested that these two buttons should be covered so that the client could not accidentally operate them.
Stairlift safety rails
29th January 2020
The client fears that weakness in her legs will allow her to fall forward out of the seat of her stairlift.
Bed mattress lifter and call switch
21st January 2020
This client, who has motor neuron disease, lives with and is cared for by his family. He had been supplied with a mattress elevator to allow him to get out of bed unaided. Unfortunately he had almost no strength in his hands so had no chance of operating the small buttons on the original remote control supplied.
Load folding bike into car boot
6th January 2020
The client wishes to be able to take a folding bike in his car boot, but is finding that his reduced strength makes it harder to fold it up and load into the car. The design of the bike is such that it does not stand up when folded, so requiring three hands to manipulate it.
Bath transfer aid
20th December 2019
A young man with severe cerebral palsy and spasms was being lifted by his carers into and out of a Lecky bath chair for bathing, affecting their backs. The usual solution of a wheeled hoist was not suitable because the legs would not pass under the bath (which is closed by a tiled panel). The home is rented and the parents were unwilling to ask the ladlord to alter the bathroom, including the installation of an overhead railed hoist.
Net curtain raiser/lowerer
20th December 2019
The client is having increasing difficulty removing her net curtains for washing and subsequently re-fitting them. Balancing on an unstable chair is no longer an option.
Wheelchair sun & rain cover
26th November 2019
Client uses a wheelchair and is both visually and hearing impaired. Part of his visual impairment means that if the ambient light is too bright and causes him discomfort, even on overcast days. Because of the way his seat is located in front of the frame of his chair, a parasol/umbrella will not provide enough shade. He requires a hood/canopy to shade him so he can enjoy the garden at his day centre.
Bed raiser
26th November 2019
The client has a very small cramped room. To create more storage space, he raised his bed on video cassette boxes. Something more stable was required. The increase in height required is not possible with commercial raisers.
Noise box trainer
16th November 2019
A teacher needed a device to help blind and partially sighted children to practice their ability to locate sounds.
Shower chair footrest
24th September 2019
The standard footrests of John’s showerchair made it difficult to manoeuvre around the narrow doors and landing of his home. Removing them make the chair both narrower and shorter, but meant that the only way of moving about was to proceed backwards, dragging his legs, which was both slow and cumbersome.
Crutches bracket for electric scooter
17th August 2019
The client requires a bracket to hold his crutches, but mounted in front of the seat. The area behind the seat (where commercial brackets are usually fitted) is taken up by a cargo basket.
Drawbridge ramp
13th August 2019
The client required a ramp for his electric scooter to pass though his front door directly onto the public pavement. The ramp could not be left in place and the client did not have any assistance available to fit, and later remove, the ramp.
Table-top frame for visual stimuli
25th July 2019
The client has very limited movement and enjoys looking at different visual stimuli. He requires a frame from which visual stimuli can be suspended.
Wheelchair cup holder
10th July 2019
Tracy needs a cupholder that clips onto the front of her wheelchair armrest, not on the side where it gets broken. The wheelchair manufacturer does not offer this option.
Car seat safety screen
8th July 2019
12-year old George with developmental and behavioural issues lashes out when anxious and finds transitions stressful. His mother requires a screen to separate him from his siblings in the back seat of their car. It must be robust but able to be installed and removed easily.
Safety bottle top opener
8th July 2019
The safety screw tops found on many bottles (for example bleach bottles) that require the top to be squeezed before being turned, can be difficult to master by those with reduced dexterity.
Drawing board
1st July 2019
8 year old girl with cerebral palsy loves to draw and paint but has limited ability to use her upper limbs. She needs a way of securing A3 and A4 paper along all four edges on her desk and wheelchair table. The usual methods of Dycem mat, blutac, masking tape etc do not work.
Cabin bed steps
11th June 2019
A child struggled to climb the steep steps into his cabin bed. 
Interfacing a shower toilet with a commode chair
30th May 2019
The client wishes to use her toilet (with integral wash and dry function) without transferring from her wheeled commode, but the wash water escapes through the gap between toilet bowl and the underside of the commode (onto the bathroom floor), and the toilet does not detect the presence of the client when seated (because of her raised seating position).
Threshold ramp for uPVC door
15th April 2019
A common problem when providing wheelchair access to a uPVC door is getting over the often quite high threshold. The usual solution of a sheet aluminium bridge has to be removed to allow the door to close which is hard for a lone wheelchair user.
A typical threshold bridge
Wheelchair-mounted turn disc
4th March 2019
The client uses a turning disc when transfering from his wheelchair. Normally, this would be mounted on the floor and the wheelchair footrests moved out of the way. The wheelchair footrests are fixed, so a de-mountable method of fixing the turning disc to the wheelchair is required.
Rollator brakes
30th January 2019
A client has a progressive muscle weakness, that particularly affects hand grip, walking and balance. He is having trouble operating the brakes on his wheeled walker and this makes him feel very unsafe.
Step-up platform
28th January 2019
21-month-old Sebby with achondroplasia (short stature) cannot use standard steps etc to access sinks, toilets and worktops. His mother is having to hold him so that he can wash his hands, etc. and she would like him to be able to do these things safely by himself.
