As always the news moves fast so just to remind you of the efforts of Captain Tom Moore back in april/May when he raised £40m+ for the NHS by walking with a rollator up and down his driveway. A magnificent effort showing how disability, however temporary, can be used for good and resulted in a knighthood! The one thing that disappointed was the basic nature of his rollator so we wanted to show that there are more stylish alternatives for assisted living, available both now and in the future…………

Regular readers will know our ‘D’ List , where we review ‘new things in the world of disability’ and we’ve previously reviewed rollators including the Topro (Troja model £162 ex VAT) and Rollz (£575 ex vat), both available from designed2enable.

Here’s one of the videos we made – the trendy & stylish Rollz rollator that converts to a wheelchair – reviewed by an able bodied person but filmed by me in a wheelchair, apologies!?

That was then so here’s an update of some new Rollator developments…..available now and maybe in the future:

1ST Let’s Go Indoor Rollator From Trust Care, 

Is a safe and practical solution for those needing a little extra support with their mobility around the home. Available in 3 colour options, Let’s Go is a slim, lightweight walking aid which is easy to manoeuvre and doubles as a trolley for indoor use. Also available from designed2enable at £195.

2ND The byAcre,

An Ultralight Carbon Rollator / Walker, its streamlined looks make it the F1 of rollators. Price £480 and comes in Strawberry Red, Oyster White and Carbon Black. We love this one!! It’s light, folds for transport, has a seat when you’re tired and is not at all like an old fashioned Zimmer frame.

 

 

3rd The Leapfrog by STUCK Design ,

Won the Red Dot and Braun Prize in 2007/8 for children with Cerebral Palsy. It is an ‘elegant mechanical solution for these patients with its automatic transformation between sitting and standing modes. This eliminates the need for frequent, and exhausting transfers in and out of the walker for short breaks’. It is now licensed to Voyar in Singapore but it doesn’t seem to have been manufactured which we believe is a real shame as it looks sleek and modern compared to other CP mobility assists. Let’s hope they do something with the design but based on other abortive good ideas we’re not hopeful!??

 

4TH The Trust Rollator Collection,

From Trust Care in Sweden, they have a number of well designed rollators called Let’s Shop, let’s Fly, Let’s Go & Let’s Dream. Let’s Shop shown here is available from Amazon and other online retailers at £269 ex VAT (£337 inc. Vat) and is practical without losing a sleek finish.

 

5th The Care Robot Lea

Lea is a futuristic Lean Empowering Assistant from JMR Robotics – a rollator to you and me but with a difference.  As a robot it can be called into action, play reminders (such as pill popping!), allow video calling and has an auto drive that corrects your walking posture. Luckily, it also avoids obstacles automatically and all are powered by the touch screen in the handles. A truly helpful robotic assist that again has not gone into production but we hope it won’t be long before robots and AI become the norm. An exciting path to greater freedom for disabled people……………

 

Finally, we thought we’d show some stylish crutches & canes as many disabled people use them with rollators. Two of the best and most innovative are those from Indes Med and the Mobility Designed M&D:

The Indes Med canes and crutches can be bought from our ADDITION online shop and are designed to be light, (either in carbon fibre or aluminium) and ergonomic. They come in sizes dependant on your height, arm and leg measurements. They are ergonomic in construction and reduce or even remove tendonitis in the wrist that occurs from continuous use of crutches or canes.

The Combo Stix from M&D is a ‘crutch that adapts to your lifestyle’ and is an alternative to a traditional cane. The M+D Crutch ($149/pair) cradles the user’s elbows and evenly distribute their weight throughout the forearms; removing pressure that other crutches place on the armpits, wrists and hands.  The crutch features:

• A hinged arm cradle that can be unlocked to provide an enhanced range of motion enabling the user to reach for things without having to remove the crutch
• It has two modes:
  • • Platform Mode – No strain on hands and wrists. Uses elbows/forearms to fully support. Great for longer distances and less use of hands to support weight
    • Forearm Mode – Great for tighter spaces, offers industry leading support and stability. More reclined position transfers more of user’s weight to elbow/forearm

 

Here is the M&D Combi Stix in action,

That’s it for now and if you know of anything we should talk about regarding disability innovations, do get in contact here and we’ll add it to the ‘D’ List.