Julie & Aaron decided on a power assist in different ways and for different reasons. Scroll through here to learn more about their personal experiences.
Travel across Europe
Go up ramps and hills without help
Do more activities within a single day
Go on more business trips
Live in the city of my choice
See more of my kid's games and events
Carry objects around with more control
Move my chair better with my feet
Manual Wheelchair users push 2000-3000 times a day
Number of pushes per day ISO considers to be harmful
SmartDrive advances daily mobility for the manual wheelchair user. The PushTracker app produces and delivers activity statistics designed to promote optimal health for the manual wheelchair user. Track distance, pushes and coast time to help you decrease the demand on your upper body.
Download the PushTracker App
Chapter 1
Julie is an active woman who works part-time, volunteers in her community, and enjoys the outdoors.
Aaron is an adventure athlete who speaks and writes, and is an ambassador for spinal cord injury.
Julie sustained a SCI in a motorcycle accident in 1978 resulting in an incomplete paraplegia. In 1999, she had multiple strokes resulting in hemiparesis & cognitive processing difficulties.
Aaron was injured in a professional motocross accident. He fractured vertebrae C4-6 resulting in incomplete quadriplegia.
• Works part-time at a YMCA and does private bookkeeping
• Camping
• Alpine Sit Skiing
• Paddle boarding
• Community advocate for people with disabilities
• Volunteer for local SCI foundation and abilities advocacy camp
• Adventure athlete, author, orator, entrepreneur and ambassador for spinal cord injury
• Member of Board of Directors USA for Wings For Life Foundation
• Chairman of the Ambassador Council
• Member of Board of Directors for Los Angeles based non-profit, Artists For Trauma
• Spinal Cord Injury Lifestyle Specialist for Shield Healthcare
• Co-Founder of C.O.R.E. Centers LLC
“I would get home at the end of my day and be so tired and sore that I couldn’t even transfer out of my wheelchair. I was needing to pay someone to help with basic chores like cooking and cleaning because I just didn’t have the endurance. With SmartDrive all that has changed.”- Julie M
“My friend had one and showed me how to use it. I tried it and knew I had to have it. SmartDrive is my ticket to an adventurous life.”-Aaron B
Chapter 2
"SmartDrive seamlessly integrates into my life. I don't have to change my environment, or my mode of transportation. It allows me to do all the things I chose not to do because they were too hard or required too much. SmartDrive is my ticket to an adventurous life!" - Aaron Baker
Chapter 3
Power assist in general is the use of technology to assist with the “push” phase of independent manual wheelchair propulsion. SmartDrive is a power assist method that uses a single motor add-on component that weighs approximately 12.5lbs and is detachable.
There are two options for controlling the device, offering access to people with varying levels of ability. The device can be used only when needed throughout the day, without having to be removed when not in use.
The Pushtracker E2 is a wearable Smart band that allows you to turn the device on/off, easily change profile modes, and review system usage.
When using the Pushtracker E2, tap gestures to the drive wheel are recognized, and they signal the motor via Bluetooth. A double tap activates the motor. It then begins to accelerate at a rate programmed by the end user or therapist. A single tap locks in the speed, at which point all the user needs to do is steer the chair. When the user wants to stop, another double tap disengages the motor, at which point the user will coast and brake with their hands. Want to see it in Action?
With the push of a button you can get a momentary burst of power or you can activate the SmartDrive in latched mode for consistent power over time.
Chapter 4
What activities SmartDrive makes better
Chapter 4
For someone who uses a wheelchair, something as simple as being invited by friends for dinner can cause anxiety or require significant planning. Aaron shares that a nice offer from his friends would cause him fear and anxiety, and he would often decline. Some of his concerns included:
See how Aaron travels with SmartDrive on Catalina Island
.jpg)
Chapter 6
SmartDrive may be funded by Medicare or private insurance if the individual meets certain criteria:
An evaluation must be done by a licensed certified medical professional (OT/PT) and include a supplier that employs an ATP. A power assist device is a capped rental under Medicare, which means that for 13 months the device is rented, and the supplier is reimbursed on a monthly basis. After those 13 months, the beneficiary then owns the device.
The OT had to justify why SmartDrive was required for Julie in her home. In her case, limitations in upper extremity function lead to decreased endurance, pain, and difficulty with propulsion. They key was to explain how this affected her independence with activities of daily living in the home.
"Every person has the right to have his or her disability compensated as far as possible by aids with the same technical standard as those we all use in our everyday lives." - Per Uddén, Permobil Founder
For more information click here to contact your local representative
All contents © copyright 2019 Permobil. All rights reserved.
Wheelchair icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com
