AUGUST 2008: NEXT, A WORKOUT WHEELCHAIR
Twenty years ago Jerry Schaeffer, an engineer from Beaverton,
fashioned the idea for a different kind of wheelchair built on
the concept that wheelchairs should help, not harm, the user.
So unlike traditional wheelchairs with push rims on the wheels,
Schaeffer’s Quantum Runner is propelled by vertical pull
levers, which help prevent injuries common to conventional
chairs such as torn shoulder muscles and pinched wrist nerves.
Jon Schaeffer, Jerry’s son and business partner, says the
Quantum Runner is ergonomically friendly because it exercises
back and chest muscles evenly. It also has four gears and disc
brakes, providing more power up hills and safer stopping on the
way down. The chair isn’t meant to replace a traditional
wheelchair — it’s more like the sports car in the
garage alongside the sedan. The Schaeffers have the prototype
and are looking for startup money. Does the elder Schaeffer see
himself using a Quantum Runner one day? “You better
believe it,” he says.
JASON SHUFFLER
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