Whether in Wheelchairs or IT – Innovation is Way Cool!

I just had my Ti-Lite equipped with Spinergy Spox rear wheel assemblies while replacing my Frog Legs assemblies and having my footplate adjusted to accept the FreeWheel mount.  Huh? All of these represent wonderfully innovative technologies in the durable medical equipment industry that help me continue to maintain an outstanding quality of life. Over the past 30 years I’ve been exposed to many of the most innovative lightweight wheelchairs as well as a litany of adaptive exercise and health technology. 

The history of the manual wheelchair alone, as well as its power-driven cousin, is an intriguing one and dense with innovative breakthroughs both modest and dramatic. My aunt and uncle generously bought me a Quadra racer in 1982 with which I terrorized the students at the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor as I came screaming down that city’s many rolling hills, my body tucked in an unnatural hyperfetal position with the exception of my arms – which were extended forward to enable my hands to grip the front caster stems in a vice-like fashion.

As the Director of Sales Support for Sigmedics – I’m the Parastep guy - I was engaged in early research under Professor Daniel Graupe and was part of our original management team as we took the Parastep-I, a highly innovative functional neuromuscular electrical stimulation ,or FNES, system that enabled moderate periods of ambulation for some of us living with the effects of paralysis from spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis or other related conditions or trauma,  from inception to manufacture. I had the opportunity to see MCT’s first carbon fiber, modular, rigid frame chair in its embryonic wood mold stage at their plant in California, and then acquired their very innovative floating frame chair featuring its retractable rigid footrest. The chair was half mobility device and half progressive office chair. Another of my favorite innovative rigid chairs was the Kuschall 3000 with its ultralight frame and rear axle level, yes level! I’d be lying to suggest that I ever actually utilized the level – or that I had any clear grasp of its necessity for that matter – but how cool!

ITKAN to Recapture its Innovative Roots

We founded the Illinois Technology Knowledge Abilities Network, or ITKAN, in early 2008 as a networking group for professionals and candidates with disabilities into technology careers. We wanted a forum in which students with disabilities could mingle with professionals with disabilities who could mingle with interested employers who could mingle with career advisors, who could….all at the knee of mother technology. We met every couple of months, shared a meal, a keynote technology speaker on topics ranging from Ajax and web 2.0, Sharepoint as a Collaborative Tool for the Enterprise, Refining your Business/Social Media profile and presence, and others and encouraged networking and creative musings on technology and careers.

My personal driver for ITKAN has always been to encourage passion among our candidates and professionals, the passion that has driven innovation in science and technology in our nation from Franklin, Edison, Carver and Ford – to Gates, Jobs, Page and Brin. The passion that must re-emerge broadly to help our nation reclaim,or at least again compete for preeminence in these critical fields.

We’re Refreshing the ITKAN with the support of our friends Shelley Stern and Adam Hecktman of Microsoft on Tuesday, September 7th from 4-6PM at the Microsoft Technology Center on the 2nd floor of the Aon building  on Chicago’s beautiful lakefront. Adam will provide our group with a personal tour of the facility. Kathie Topel,  author, colleague, innovative organizational consultant and Vice President of Impact Insights will speak to “Innovation in the Enterprise” as we venture into this new stage of ITKAN. We’ll also be presenting The forerunners, a documentary film that we are proud to be associated with focused on encouraging students with disabilities to pursue an education and career with science and technology at the forefront.

If you’d like to join us as we Refresh ITKAN, please drop me an email at pmaher@nablement.com. Help us to encourage the premise that, whether applied to wheelchairs, smart phones, or assistive technology – Innovation is Way Cool!