My friend Brian Hughes is one of those creative entrepreneurs. His current project is to sell modification kits to Segways that make them useful for handicapped people. The idea is to mount a comfortable seat on the machine, from which the person can easily reach the controls and transport himself or herself around. This would be an alternative to hand-powered wheelchairs or even electric wheelchairs.
This is still in early development, but here's his website. You can watch a video and see some test runs. If you have ideas for how Brian might be able to move this concept along, or of particular groups of people who might benefit from this kind of product, please get in touch at brian (at) segsaddle (dot) com. Or if you live in San Antonio, go visit and give it a try.
My husband can stand and walk short distances, but not long distance due to a severe old motorcycle injury to his leg. After trying several things, he loves his Segway, and it has been accepted as a handicapped device by at least AirTran airways. Their expense is the main problem preventing wider usage by individuals. His is a used older model. i recommend others at least look into this solution though.
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