Inspired
Invention
SPINAL COLUMN
The Magazine of Shepherd Center
Winter 2007
Dan Sadowsky
 |
| "We’re on
a mission to get wheelchair users back in
the game of life!" |
Bill Miller and Bruce Howerton
don’t know each other, but they share
a lot in common. Both suffered life-altering
accidents. Both are now quadriplegics. And both
have invented products to help keep them active
in their wheelchairs. In the process, they’ve
helped improve the quality of life for others
with spinal cord injuries. “To me it’s
not about inventing things,” says Miller.
“It’s about overcoming obstacles.”
Bill Miller’s path to invention
began one night in 1997. He tripped over some
weight equipment in his college dorm room, dislocating
two vertebrae in his neck and bruising his spinal
cord. The accident left him a C-1-2, ventilator-dependent
quadriplegic. After spending two months at Shepherd
Center, Miller returned to his native Florida.
He was looking for an activity - something he
could physically do - besides operating a computer
with voice software. Eager to help, Miller’s
stepmother, Donna Miller, mentioned her stepson’s
lack of physical opportunities to a friend,
Claude Giguere, a retired General Motors engineer.
“There were no real activities
or sports I could actively participate in, so
we set out to invent a way, literally, for me
to go bowling,” recalls Miller, who had
bowled recreationally before his accident. “Then
we realized that all wheelchair users should
also be able to bowl, so we decided we wanted
to share the opportunity.”
Over two years of what Miller
describes as “a lot of trial, error and
perfecting,” he and Giguere developed
a ramp-like device that attaches to wheelchairs.
They named the device the IKAN Bowler®.
How it works is remarkably simple: An able-bodied
person attaches the IKAN to a wheelchair and
places the bowling ball on top. The bowler wheels
forward and stops at the line. The force of
momentum that follows the stopping action propels
the ball forward, down the ramp and toward the
pins.
“People are often amazed
at how well I bowl,” says Miller. “Instead
of being a spectator, people in wheelchairs
– even high quads like me – can
participate and compete.” Miller and Giguere
teamed up with businessman Vincent Tifer and
formed MGT Corporation to produce and distribute
the IKAN Bowler®, which is now available online
for $719 (www.mgtcorp.com).
“We have a great mount,
and it can be adapted for multiple sports,”
says Miller, adding that they’ve developed
the IKAN Soccer Guard so that wheelchair athletes
can play Power Soccer. They also plan to add
a Boccia device, giving wheelchair users three
sports that can be played.
“It’s a real quality
of life improvement,” says Miller, “and
we’re on a mission to get wheelchair users
back in the game of life!”
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