The Wijit driving and braking system for manual wheelchairs is now available, according to Shannon M. Hollsten, president of SuperQuad, the device’s manufacturer.
The Wijit, which has turned heads at several industry shows, including last March’s Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas, is a lever-activated gear system “designed to provide increased mechanical advantage by virtue of a lever arm attached to an integrated hub built into a wheel that offers a standard quick-release system.”
In simpler words, the Wijit enables manual chair users to self propel by using the lever-based system, rather than having to grip pushrims. While the original Wijit used a wheelchair’s own wheel, the new Wijit system includes its own wheel and hub. The system is sold in pairs to replace a manual chair’s stock rear wheels.
SuperQuad, founded by Brian M. Watwood after he was injured in a bicycle accident in the late 1980s, is based in Roseville, Calif. Check out Wijit at www.wijit.com.
