Mum and son innovators look to bring their Walking Wheelchair to reality
A mother and son team who have devised a pioneering standing wheelchair are looking to partner with a manufacturer to bring their prototype to fruition.
The Walking Wheelchair enables people with limited use of their legs to assume a standing position, using a saddle therapy seat and Segway-style wheelbase.
Its design, which is aimed at people living with conditions including Muscular Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Motor Neurone Disease and spinal injury (L1-5), is protected by patent and has already won awards for its innovative design.
It differs from what is already available through its saddle seat lifting the user’s weight vertically to standing, rather than a conventional seat which tips, and has a gyroscope to balance the standing weight instead of a counterweight. It also has a two wheel wheelbase with a tight turning circle rather than the standard six-wheel base.
Now, its creators Suzanne Brewer and her 14-year-old son Jarvis, are looking to bring their idea to reality by finding a company to license the Walking Wheelchair and add the product to their range.
Work on the idea for the Walking Wheelchair begun in 2018, when Jarvis was just 11, and he and his mum were inspired by the experience of Andy Masters, who lives with spinal injury and uses a wheelchair, at an event they had attended at their local rugby club in South London.
Unable to be noticed amidst the clamour at a busy bar, Suzanne and Jarvis realised the everyday struggles Andy and others who use a wheelchair must experience, and were compelled into action by a children’s enterprise competition being run by Sky News.
From there, the concept has developed hugely, with its initial prototype being redesigned following insight from experts at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and the Back Up Trust – with the design’s inspiration Andy being one of the advisors – and product is now ready to launch.
Suzanne, an architect and owner of Suzanne Brewer Architects, will be exhibiting at Naidex 2021 in their search for a partner to help launch the Walking Wheelchair.
“From seeing the need for a more discrete standing wheelchair than anything that was available, we did some designs and then ordered the parts from eBay so we could build it – we had to take it to a prototyping company for that bit, that was a bit far for us,” recalls Suzanne.
“We have had some great insight and support to help us on our journey. For example, Jarvis loves being on his bike so we initially included a bike seat, but after we visited occupational therapists at Stoke Mandeville, they recommended we use a Bambach saddle seat instead.
“We came at it initially from a design perspective, but our feedback has made us realise how the Walking Wheelchair can positively impact posture and bowel movement, we’ve realised the benefit it could have on people’s needs.
“It has been brilliant to work on this with Jarvis, we’ve both really enjoyed it, and it has turned into something which we hope will make a difference. Now, we are looking for a company who will add our product to their range.”
While the Walking Wheelchair was due to be unveiled at Naidex 2020, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Suzanne says the extra year has been both helpful but frustrating.
In the past year, the invention won the product design category of the international Dezeen Awards, and was named a finalist in the international Intelligent Design Awards, having been nominated by the British Design Fund.
“In some ways we lost a lot of time, but in others we were able to gain momentum through the awards and we got a bit of national press too. We’re keen to make up for lost time and are looking forward to meeting people at Naidex and to hopefully finding a company to work with,” says Suzanne.
