Deans' stroke musings: spnKiX motorized shoes edge closer to production

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Friday, December 23, 2011

spnKiX motorized shoes edge closer to production

I know this is quite out there since if you can't walk its unlikely you'd be able to safely balance on these. But anything is possible. Reminds me of the time I brought rollerblades to a PT session.
http://www.gizmag.com/spnkix/20913/

Peter Treadway's battery-powered motorized shoes - which we first spied as a concept in mid-2010 - are edging closer to production. Called spnKiX, these electric roller-skates have gone through more than thirty prototypes over a five year period to reach the final design and if all goes to plan they will hit the pavement in March 2012.

spnKiX feature a frame made of fiber reinforced nylon that the rider straps on while still wearing their normal shoes. Each "shoe" contains all the electronic parts - there's one in wheel motor and one battery pack for each foot. Gliding is controlled via a wireless handheld remote contro that comes with a simple switch to adjust the speed. There's also a little reflector located on the back of each shoe for safety.

Unless your workplace is close by, the shoes are unlikely to become your new commuting option though. The rechargeable lithium battery is good for only 2-3 miles ride and it takes 2-3 hours to recharge it. The maximum speed is quite impressive (and possibly even a little scary in some situations) at 10 mph. The maker recommends that the rider should be at least sixteen, weighing no more than 180lbs (81kg).

The spnKiX motorized shoes can be pre-ordered for the price of US$375 (the future retail price will be US$649). The first batch of 100 units is slated to be shipped by early March 2012, but this depends on whether the company gathers backing of US$25,000 at the time of writing the project has raised $13,000 with 42 days remaining to reach its goal.

Treadway gives us an insight into the inspiration behind spnKiX in the following video.