Shower Wheelchairs

A report of a survey showed that there are 200,000 people living in the USA with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. These injuries have caused hurdles in the way of working for them. Two researchers named Milwaukee and Tampa VA have made a wheelchair for these people in the USA and have named it as Commode Shower Wheelchair. After testing this wheelchair on many patients, this wheelchair has been commercially manufactured at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD), the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in Milwaukee, and Tampa, and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. These researchers have focused on the design that would increase the flexibility of use than other so-called easy to use wheelchairs.

During research of this wheelchair, there were funds of $230,000 by Merit Intramural Research Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington DC, after the patients were joined with Medical College of Wisconsin Research Foundation. Firstly, commercial usages of these wheelchairs started in Oct, 26 2004 at Medtrade. The factory in which this wheelchair was commercially manufactured was Activeaid Inc., Redwood Falls, Minn.



This wheelchair has brought revolution in the lives of people suffering from spinal cord and other injuries which are causing hurdles in their walking. It was said by Pascal Malassign, "Current wheelchairs have danger dilemmas that can participate to good health complications. Yet small shape research pointing on this dilemma has been done until now”.


A survey conducted by the design team revealed that 42 percent of veterans with spinal cord injuries consider the brakes on existing commode wheelchairs to be ineffective. More than 47 percent felt unsafe when transferring to a commode wheelchair and more than 35 percent reported one of more falls from commode-shower wheelchairs. Of those, more than 23 percent were hospitalized for between one month and four years from the fall.

These problems were brought to the attention of Prof. Malassignay Audrey Nelson, R.N., Ph.D., director of the Patient Safety Center at Tampa VA Medical Center, who had been treating veterans with spinal cord injuries. Later, Prof. Malassign頍 and his design team rolled out prototypes of a folding wheelchair for use over a toilet and in the shower. Patients who tried the prototypes considered them far superior to their current wheelchairs. Ninety-five percent wanted one for home use and 89 percent used them on trips. Joining Malassign頯n the design team on this project were Dr. Nelson, at the Tampa VA Medical Center, and Robert P. Jensen, then industrial designer in the department of physical medicine & rehabilitation at the Medical College, and a MIAD instructor.

"For the more than 200,000 persons with spinal cord dysfunction in the United States and the countless other Americans living with a disability, this newly designed commode-shower wheelchair is a safe and dignified way to manage basic hygiene needs", says Dr. Nelson, past president of the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses. "Designed to maximize patient independence and reduce caregiver strain, this new wheelchair will reduce falls and prevent pressure ulcers which were all too common in other commode-shower wheelchair designs", she adds.

Activeaid has been manufacturing quality medical equipment since 1963, specializing in shower commode wheelchairs, bath chairs, and tilt chairs for the rehabilitation market. Their products are designed in collaboration with clinicians, patients and caregivers. With 40 employees in Redwood Falls, and 40 sales representatives across the United States, the company used "just-in-time" manufacturing procedures to produce up to 40 commode-shower wheelchairs per week beginning in November 2004.

The wheelchairs have been distributed in Wisconsin by National Seating and Mobility, Inc., and Westhill Rehab from their locations in Appleton, Madison, Franklin, Oak Creek and Wauwatosa. Some of first wheelchairs have been placed in the Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Milwaukee and Tampa VA Medical Centers and the Spinal Cord Injury Center at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee. Froedtert is a major teaching facility of the Medical College.

Chip Nearing, Activeaid's Vice President and COO, notes "This product is a tremendous opportunity for our company - it fits perfectly within our core business. We are pleased to help provide the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Medical College a return on their R&D investment."