The 30 percent smaller chassis makes the wheelchair extremely agile. With the front-wheel drive, in combination with the large tyres, the little passengers can also negotiate kerbs without any problems. Standing, lying, tilting – all functions are possible, just like with the adult models. In addition, the new power wheelchair has a seat concept that grows with the child and can therefore be used from pre-school age to teenage years.
"There has been a significant increase in enquiries in the area of child care," reports Stefan Ludwig, Head of Wheelchair Systems at PARAVAN GmbH. "This motivated us to develop a wheelchair specially adapted to the needs of children." Agility and suitability for everyday use, even for the smallest users, were particularly important to the Swabian inventors. The standing wheelchair is suitable for children from a height of approx. 1.10 metres. "This means it can already be used at pre-school age," says Ludwig. During development, attention was also paid to the use of particularly quiet motors, "so that no disturbing noises occur, for example during school lessons." In addition, the PR 35 S is very narrow, so that it can be used even in small classrooms and the wheelchair also fits behind the school desk.
The PARAVAN PR 35 S has a flexible seat shell concept: "It grows in all directions," says the wheelchair expert. This means that the seat and back width or seat and back length as well as the leg length can be individually adjusted. The compact stand-up wheelchair is equipped with a biometric sliding back, similar to its big brother, the PARAVAN PR 40, as well as with an individually adjustable headrest with side support and knee pads for optimal support in the standing function. The standing wheelchair has a memory function that is stored via the RNet control. For example, the standing curve can be stored directly. "At the push of a button, the child then automatically moves into the familiar and optimal standing position," says Ludwig. The colour selection also leaves no child's wishes unfulfilled: from fairy-purple to dinosaur-green, everything is possible. And when Princess Lillifee is out of fashion, the colour can also be changed, depending on what is in fashion at the time – how about strawberry red or Smurf blue?
Already during the development, there were repeated tests in various institutions that were carried out with children. "This feedback gave us important development impulses," says Ludwig. The reduction of the chassis by 30 percent, and thus the significantly smaller installation space, was a real challenge for the tinkerers from the Swabian Alb.
The first customer has already been able to try out the new PR 35 S in the Aichelau mobility park. "Finally standing again," says the 9-year-old, who has a neuromuscular disease and has not been able to stand independently for six years, happily. With the new wheelchair model, he will be able to move around his boarding school much more independently and flexibly in the future, the parents, for whom the standing function was particularly important, are certain. For Stefan Ludwig, this is confirmation that the PARAVAN wheelchair team is on the right track. "Children's product development is something very individual and special. And the fact that you can put a smile on children's faces with it is the greatest reward."
"Only PARAVAN has such an agile e-wheelchair, especially for children, and with a standing function," says Matthias Enneper, wheelchair sales representative and rehab child consultant. "With this, we can cover many children's fittings that no one else can realise." With the large wheels, he says, it is easy to drive safely over the kerb. "With the front-wheel drive, routine and a bit of courage, we manage seven centimetres," says Enneper. There is a lot of interest in the market, he says, whether at medical supply stores or paediatric centres. "The important thing is that the child says this is my wheelchair," says Matthias Enneper. With a normal wheelchair, a child can hardly keep up with peers. "Participation also means taking part at eye level," says the rehab child expert. "The child can also sit at home, but the child doesn't get anything out of that." And in his opinion, every child should be able to say: "Mummy, I can do it myself!"
REHACARE.com; Source: PARAVAN GmbH
