This cushion’s made for walking
Issue: 2 July 2008
Author: GRAHAM CLEWS
Jackets to keep the Polish army warm inspired an invention by a Midlands physiotherapist.
Her brainchild could soon be sold around the world.
Jill Parker, commercial physiotherapy manager at the Apley clinic, Princess Royal hospital, Telford, heard about a self-inflating cellular polymer substance used in coats and also inflatable beds, from her brother, an engineer in Poland.
This was the beginning of a seven-year process that has finally seen the Physio-Master foot cushion enter production, with help from a scheme to encourage NHS staff to develop their inventions.
Ms Parker, who works for the Shrewsbury and Telford hospital trust, discovered that the foot cushion would replicate the action of walking, and thus stimulate circulation to help patients with deep vein thrombosis. It is also said to improve proprioception to help balance reactions, working as effectively as a wobble board, but at a much lower cost.
None of the medical device manufacturers she approached was interested. However, she then learned of MidTECH, the NHS Innovations hub in the Midlands.
The Physio-Master finally went on sale in November after years of tests, and a firm in the USA is already showing interest. ‘I’ve spent hours and hours of my own time on developing this, and if I make any money it will be a bonus,’ Ms Parker said. ‘Ultimately it’s about seeing the clinical possibilities and producing something worthwhile.’
FURTHER INFORMATION www.mdti.co.uk
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