UPnRIDE Robotics, manufacturer of a power wheelchair with standing and other positioning features, is collaborating with the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and the Kessler Foundation to investigate the impact of standing on wheelchair riders’ everyday lives and in their daily environments. “Kessler Foundation is one of the most respected names in rehabilitation research, and this…
UPnRIDE, Kessler Foundation to Partner on Standing Study
Kalogon Hires First Chief Technology Officer
The seating manufacturer has hired a consumer electronics veteran.
Kalogon’s first-ever chief technology officer is a veteran of such industry icons as Microsoft, Meta and HP. The seating manufacturer announced in an Oct. 5 news release that it has hired Marty Evans, who “brings more than 25 years of experience designing and shipping consumer hardware.” At Melbourne, Florida-based Kalogon, Evans will “lead Kalogon’s engineering…
CMS Announces Timing for Competitive Bidding Supplier Registration, Bid Window
Providers wanting to place bids can register starting Dec. 1.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has supplied additional timing details for the restart of its Medicare competitive bidding program. Suppliers who want to bid for contracts can register starting on Dec. 1, 2026. Registration closes Feb. 1, 2027. The bid window opens Jan. 5, 2027, and closes on March 10, 2027. CMS…
Wandercraft Acquires Ekso Bionics, Creates Global Exoskeleton Reach
Both companies offer walking exoskeletons.
Wandercraft has acquired Ekso Bionics in a move that Wandercraft described as “bringing together two leaders in robotic mobility.” Wandercraft — based in Paris and New York City — and Ekso Bionics, based in San Rafael, California, announced the deal on Oct. 1. Wandercraft bought the exoskeleton company from ChronoScale Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: CHRN). “The…
Tolt Technologies Launches Ability Drive Eye-Gaze for iPad
This is the latest Tolt Technologies interface for power chair operation using eye gaze.
Riders who use eye-gaze technology to drive their power wheelchairs and control their power seating now have another interface option. Tolt Technologies has launched Ability Drive for iPad, now available for ordering along with the new Tolt Technologies A13i. “The A13i pairs an iPad with an eye-tuitive eye tracker, so one device can drive the…
Ultralight Upgrade Bill Passes Senate, Goes to White House
H.R. 1703 passed without amendments by the Senate.
H.R. 1703 — the Choices for Increased Mobility Act— has passed the Senate and is, at press time, awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature. The bill gives Medicare beneficiaries a more accessible path to upgrade their ultralightweight wheelchair frames to carbon fiber or titanium at their own expense. If the bill becomes law, Medicare beneficiaries will…
Medicare Now Covers E0150 Combination Wheeled Walker/Transport Chair
Rollz Mobility’s devices were the impetus for the change.
Medicare is now covering HCPCS code E0150, defined as “Combination wheeled walker with seat and transport chair, folding, adjustable or fixed height.” The new durable medical equipment (DME) coverage policy began Oct. 7. From Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept. 30, 2026, Medicare didn’t cover the code, “as it does not meet the definition of DME,”…
Briefly: Probationary Prior Authorization for New Suppliers; AI’s Impact on Healthcare Clients
Featuring the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Zanda Health.
Newly Enrolled Suppliers Put on Probationary Prior Authorization New durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) providers — or DMEPOS businesses who underwent “certain changes of ownership” on or after Oct. 15 — will be on “probationary prior authorization” for some HCPCS codes, according to an announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid…
Carbon 3D-Printing Patent Upheld by European Patent Office
The company’s technology is being used to create customized wheelchair cushions, among other healthcare and consumer products.
Carbon’s foundational 3D-printing technology patent has been upheld by the European Patent Office (EPO) following an appeal from one of the company’s competitors. The Sunnyvale, California-based company said in a Sept. 28 announcement that the patent in question is one of Carbon’s “foundational dual-cure patents,” and that the ruling was “upholding the broadest claim of…
Commentary: The Terrible Cost of Keeping People Apart
Disability rights are human rights — and we’re on a slippery slope.
I’m thinking again of a young woman from more than 20 years ago, in my early days of covering Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) for Mobility Management. She was married, the mother of a toddler, going to college, working, driving a wheelchair-accessible van. She used a CRT power wheelchair because she was born with tetra-amelia, the…