VA doctor's new wheelchair has some surprising capabilities
From: Ann Arbor News - 12/19/2005
By: Geoff Larcom, glarcom@annarbornews.com, 734/994-6838

Dr. Ben Dwamena poses the question in a mischievous tone. 

"Do you scream easily?" he asks. 

He moves the joystick on the handle of his wheelchair, which jerks back and
forth slightly as its four wheels stack atop each other. 

In seconds, Dwamena is several feet off the floor, at eye level with the
storage cabinets and towering above a visitor sitting in his office at the
Veterans Administration Medical Center in Ann Arbor. 

"It's a little scary at first," says Bob Steventon, chief nuclear medicine
technologist at the VA Hospital. "When he starts doing it, you say, 'Oh my
God, he's going to fall over."  

Last month, Dwamena, a specialist in radiology and nuclear medicine at the VA
hospital, became one of the first people in Michigan to receive the new
high-tech chair, called the Independencer iBot 4000 Mobility System. The
chair uses a combination of electronics, sensors and software to provide new
levels of freedom and access for people with disabilities. 

Dwamena, who was partially paralyzed in a 1998 automobile accident, says the
chair has been extremely useful in both his job and personal life. He cited a
recent snowstorm as an example. In his old wheelchair, he would have
struggled getting through any snow and slush. "Today, it was like a piece of
cake," he said. 

The chair automatically adjusts wheel position and seat orientation to
stabilize users. That enables Dwamena to carry on face-to-face conversations
from a seated position with colleagues and patients. "The eye-to-eye contact
is very nice," says Dwamena, who also has an appointment in radiology at the
University of Michigan. 

With the new wheelchair, Dwamena can independently climb stairs and use the
chair's four-wheel drive to get to his mini-van through winter conditions. 

Dwamena was left with some upper mobility after his dramatic crash, in which
he was thrown from the van into the oncoming traffic lanes on US-23. The
crash occurred as he was commuting from work to East Lansing, where he lives
with his wife, Francesca, also a physician. 

Dwamena first heard about the chair several years ago, when he saw it
featured on TV. He applied to be a part of the clinical trials and didn't
hear back or think much of it until one of his rehab specialists recommended
he take another look and apply for the chair. 

The wheelchair is not tailored to a specific disability, but rather to the
functions people want it to perform. Dean Kamen, whose most famous invention
is the Segway Human Transporter, designed the wheelchair in partnership with
Johnson & Johnson. 

Its wheels are balanced by six gyroscopes arranged in different planes and
calibrated to the specific user's body mass. When balanced wheel on wheel,
the chair only allows users to move within a safe range. If the center of
mass moves forward, the sensors tell the computers to center the wheels under
the user. 

The wheelchair costs a little more than $26,000, which is generally paid for
by insurance, said Jeff Joerres, a product consultant and physical therapist
for its manufacturer, Independence Technologies, based in New Jersey. It is
available in Michigan at two locations - Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation
Hospital in Grand Rapids and The Recovery Project, a clinic in Livonia. 

Those who work with Dwamena say the chair allows him to fluidly navigate each
day with striking ease. "It really provides him with as much mobility as I
have," Steventon said. "It allows him to go seemingly anywhere in the
department."  

Dwamena can now zip ahead of most walkers - the chair can move at up to 6 mph
- and he can give a presentation at the various podiums found in auditoriums. 

He particularly enjoyed the chair's mobility during a recent Thanksgiving
trip to visit relatives in Maryland, where he easily climbed the steps into
the home and did not need a ramp. 

Dwamena is described by colleagues as optimistic and friendly, displaying a
ready and hearty laugh as he makes his way around the Nuclear Medicine
Department in the distinctive chair. 

"He always amazes me with his attitude," said Liza Hastings, the department's
receptionist. "He never seems to be down, and has a great sense of humor."  

Yet that first sight of the chair rising several feet and then balancing on
its wheels can be startling. 

Dwamena chuckles recalling such moments. "I'm the only one who feels safe,"
he says.

Contributed by Susan Gilbert Beck

Links:
High-tech wheelchair brings users to eye level
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showthread.php?p=940791#post940791

HealthFirst-Four-wheel-drive mobility
http://a.abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=healthfirst&id=3697112

Doctor among first to get revolutionary wheelchair
http://www.mfbrc.com/Secondary.aspx?channelpostingid=181