When Jeff Webber injured his left foot five years, he definitely did not expect the discomfort that was caused to him by the standard crutches handed to him by the hospital staff. Weber’s hands chaffed and his wrists ached because of poorly designed, badly placed grips. So he finally decided to take matters into his own hands once he recovered. The fact that he is seating designer by profession and an apprentice to Bill Stumpf, a legendary pioneer of ergonomic design, only helped him in his pursuit of creating comfortable crutches. Weber began by working out sketches and eventually took them back to his Minneapolis studio to create prototypes. He also couldn’t find anyone who had redone the standard crutch that was both well-designed and affordable to the masses.

Weber’s redesigned crutches are dubbed the Mobilegs and boast of ergonomic grips that are adjustable and angled to fit where your hands would fall naturally. Furthermore, he has created two versions, the “Universal” costs $59.99 and has the basic ergonomic redesign that mitigates the pressure points. The tricked-out “Ultra” at $89.99 has the added proprietary “breathable” membrane for the shock-absorbed arm support. Both use 42% less aluminum than the standard crutches now available. These ergonomically designed crutches will be available from this summer itself.
Weber is hoping his venture is a success. In fact, armed with $800,000 in angel investments, Weber plans to turn his new company, Mobi, into a full-on mobility startup.
[Fastcompany]

Topics: Lifestyle Tags: on June 3, 2010

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