Looking for ideas for new mobility-related products

[goldnucs]

Hi everybody. My name is Rick, I'm a C5-6 quad and I've invented, and am now marketing, a portable commode / shower chair which I have aptly named the "Go-Anywhere Chair" [pun intended  ]. If you're curious, you can take a peek at www.GoesAnywhere.com. I invented this product because I had never been able to find a decent shower chair that was practical or portable enough to travel with and, as a result, for nearly 30 years, I have traveled only when absolutely necessary and for only as long as I had to.

I am interested in adding additional mobility/travel-related assistive devices to our product line as it is rarely economically viable to build a business around a single product. So far, I plan to offer 2-, 3-, 4-, 5- and 6'-long portable aluminum threshold ramps and then a new kind of portable, collapsable transfer board which I haven't finished inventing yet. Beyond these I am seeking ideas from my peers in the physically-challenged community. I am curious if you've ever looked for a specific gadget that might have made your life easier only to find that it either didn't exist (as was the case with me and a practical portable shower chair) or, if it did exist, that it was so ridiculously priced, that it might as well have not existed at all.

I look forward to hearing any input or ideas that you may have for a product, or products, that you would like to see which might improve your life or the life of a friend or loved one. If it turns out that the product you need is feasible to produce and is consistent with the mobility-related devices which I am manufacturing, not only would I be willing to provide you with the product, but I'd also want to compensate you for the idea. I am not suggesting that anyone give away the next iPod or Bluetooth technology , but only to share any common-sense idea that they might like to have in order to make their own life a little bit easier and a little bit more comfortable. But then, ya never know; look what White-out and Post-Its did for their creators!


 
 
 

[Ulla]

Hello Rick,

I was really impressed with your products, Rick.  I am in my holiday apartment in Spain at the moment and your glider chair would be perfect for our son Nick, injured in March 2005, C5 incomplete (down to C7 through sheer hard work and determination).  I have looked through your website and would really like the measurments in cm.

 What is the price in Euros? 

Do you deliver to Spain? 

How long would it take from ordering to delivery?


A sliding board that folds would also be so useful and I would def buy one!

Hope for a very fast response please as I'm only in Spain until Tuesday night.

We are taking Nick over to Spain in early January 2008 for the 1st time.

Best regards,  Ulla

[goldnucs]

Hi Ulla,

Whew! Where do I begin?    Okay; measurements in cm: There are 2.54 cm to the inch or, inversely, 0.4 cm to the inch.  The clearance between each of the legs [to fit over a toilet] is 42 cm.  The height from floor to top-of-seat is adjustible from 89 to 105.4 cm.  The shower chair [ie. "rolling section"] will fit through a doorway as narrow as 46 cm.  The bridge connecting the shower chair to the tub section will span a distance of 33 cm.  If there are other dimensions you might need, or have ANY other questions, please e-mail me at rick@GoesAnywhere.com.

Our price for the tub-slider system would be roughly 1335 EUR, plus shipping.  For the commode / shower chair, only, would cost 964 EUR.

We could certainly deliver to Spain as we could anywhere.  The cost, naturally, depends upon how fast you would need it but suffice it to say, it is not cheap.  We shipped to the Netherlands recently and it cost about $250 USD [186 EUR].

Which leads us right in to yor last question regarding delivery time.  My answer is it depends.  If we have the color you would like in stock, we can ship immediately and delivery, again, depends upon how much you want to pay and how fast you need it.  The least expensive way takes a couple of weeks as they strap it to the back of a north Atantic sea tortoise on his return migration from holiday in the Carribean    (I'd be more than happy to research other methods if you'd like me to).

Again, please to hesitate to e-mail me or Skype [free voice-to-voice over the internet] if I can be of further assistance.

rick

[Ulla]

Hello Rick,

Thank you very much for your fast response.  A high 11/10 for that.  I do know my convertion tables but was too bone idle to convert it, as the sun is shining, so thought maybe you liked something to do!!      

I will Skype you when I get back to the uk as I am having problems with the broadband (Skype don't work nor does my sling box so no Uk television) in my apartment and must upgrade anyway as I am stuck to an old fashion modem. 

Will also ask Nick about anything else that he has found that would make his life acceptable.

Best regards,

Ulla

PS.  Skype name is ulla.pennick

[goldnucs]

Ulla,

You asked for fast; you got fast.  No worries, I was happy to re-live my grade schools days and calculate metric conversions.  I do hope that they're accurate as it's Labor Day holiday and, naturally, I had consumed a pint or two.   

If you tell me where you would want to have a chair delivered, I'd be happy to look into shipping options (now that I've got the mathematics and quantum physics out of the way) and have that info available when you Skype me.

Hope you're enjoying the sunshine; have some for me! 

[friendlyblondmom]

My Soon to be father in law buit a shower chair for jake. Traditional shower chairs  where you sit up are not something we use. Jake is a C1 C2 quad and cant sit up. Yould have to add seat straps to shower him. So he took a pool chair that lays flat. Had some guy add wheels to the bottom and added a pad on top. Simmilar to a pad they make to sit on at stadiums on it..so jake can lay down...shower etc. His dad tried to build a travel version. sortive.. out of PVC pipes he built a frame that held his bed like a cot or hamick. He use something similar trampoline material so that the watter would pass trough. its a little wobbolie so we'd like to find a better version with stirdyier frame.....

[goldnucs]

We're working on adding those accessories as we speak.  We will have chest, waist and shin safety straps available soon in addition to a head support, a child potty seat and a plastic basin which will simply snap on to the footrest so you can soak your feet.

Sounds like your father-in-law's a pretty clever guy though.

[asianvince]

Well... I met a great person a year ago, he has MS and he invented the Peddlemaster for the exact same reason you invented this chair, he was frustrated of the current hand controls. I tried other ones but this is more convenient for me, I can travel, share cars yet still safe and approved. Your chair looks awesome, I love it! Maybe you could have a video too like Peddlemaster. He said that increased his product sales.



Are you interested in the Peddlemaster?

[goldnucs]

We've added a self-propel model and a whole bunch of pics.  If you like to, want to, need to, etc., travel, but are hindered as a result of not having a practical, portable shower chair, maybe we've got what you need. Take a look at www.GoesAnywhere.com.