Cyclone Mobility

As many of you know my cousin Lewis was in a car crash two years ago and he was paralyzed from the waist down from about T8 to T9. He received treatment from Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for around two months before he was moved up to Southport Regional Spinal Unit where he stayed for a further 6 months. Lewis was discharged from the hospital Christmas Eve of 2009but went for regular check ups before he went back to school in the Febuary. Lewis still attends Southport but on a 6monthly basis just for check ups.

Now since Lewis is a paraplegic and he is sat in his wheelchair for long periods, the hospital started to give Lewis physio on his hips legs and feet. Lewis has carried on this physio and attends Tops Physio and Rehabilitation in Wakefield once a week. Stuart Dunne the founder of Cyclone Mobility has been involved in Lewis's case with one of his products the RT300. (Image to the right)

Who are Cyclone?

Cyclone was founded in November 1989 by Stuart Dunne. With an educational background in engineering, Stuart had set his sights on a career in the RAF until he sustained a C6/7 spinal injury resulting from a car accident. Diagnosed tetraplegic, Stuart was hospitalised for five months, during which time he started training as an accountant.

As a full-time wheelchair user following his injury, Stuart believed that his engineering and commercial know-how would enable him to design and market a far better and lighter chair than the standard NHS wheelchair which he described as “like pushing a Sherman tank around”.

Cyclone’s core focus has traditionally been the spinally-injured end user but the company is diversifying into secondary markets including multiple sclerosis and spina bifida. Cyclone nevertheless remains committed to the spinal injury sector and is a leader in the emerging and promising field of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES). The company was the first in the UK to market an FES therapy product, developed in conjunction with the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Cyclone remains an exclusive distributor of RT electrical stimulation products an believes that this is a significant area in the future treatment of spinal injuries.

So what does the RT300 do?

The RT300-S is a FES (functional electrical stimulation) system. FES is a rehabilitation technique where electrical current stimulates nerves to evoke muscle contractions. With the RT300-S, FES is used to create patterned movement of the legs, enabling muscles to perform cycling work even though the user may have lost voluntary control of those muscles. The RT300-S allows the user to participate in both active and passive therapy so the full session can be completed regardless of muscle fatigue.

You use the RT300-S from your wheelchair, with your feet secured in the pedals and your legs supported by the calf rests.

Surface electrodes are placed on your skin over particular muscle groups (glutes, quads and hamstrings) and connected to the ergometer by a set of cables.

Software on the computer then controls the stimulation patterns sent to your legs, producing a smooth pedaling motion. 

The benefits of using the RT300-S include:

• Relaxing of muscle spasms

• Increasing blood circulation

• Maintains or increases range of motion

• Prevents muscle wastage

As you can see Stuart is doing a fantastic job, have a look at some of his products on the link below see if you can recommend anyone! 

   Links:
http://www.cyclonemobility.com/ Cyclone Mobility (Stuart Dunne)