GelO News January 2013

Finally, what your customer really NEEDED !! Problem: Your client needs a foot box. But the ones you've seen have issues. They're often made from plastic or material that just won't hold up to normal use. They offer little or no protection AND they're in a fixed position; something we would NEVER do with a leg rest or stump support. Solution: Our new Adjustable Fully ADJUSTABLE Foot Box with SOFT GEL Foot Box (AFB) addresses all your concerns. Made from aircraft grade aluminum, it can stand up to whatever punishment the client dishes out. It's lined with what we hope by now you know is simply the best protective GEL on the market today. Features and Benefits: Normal Swing away footrests are 70 degrees - so why are all Foot Boxes 90 degrees? Isn't dorsi plantar flexion important to customers who need a Foot Box? Gel Ovations gets many requests to line Foot Boxes with Gel. We heard you and are thrilled to be able to offer a Gel Lined Foot Box that meets your needs and our standards. These Foot Boxes meet REAL client needs. Adjustable ANGLE Foot Box The anodized aluminum (not plastic) Foot Box is easily adjusted in increments from 90 degrees to what is needed simply by lining up different holes on the side and tightening a bolt. If Client's Needs change? Pick different alignment holes and tighten bolt. The GEL side pads are both a '90 degree triangle' and a pie shaped 'spacer pad'. By using these 2, the side is nicely covered with GEL. The range of holes on the bottom makes positioning the Foot Box on the footplate straightforward. Whatever your clients need in a Foot Box, the GEL Lined Angle Adjustable Foot Box from Gel Ovations can match the need. Finally an Adjustable Foot Box with the Comfort of GEL !! Foot Box adjusted for WIDE angle. Every hole is a possible adjustment. Yahoo News recently ran a story about an inventor in Israel who wants to potentially change transportation in some of the world's most congested cities and in some of the world's poorest countries. Izhar Gafni, 50, an expert designing automated mass-production lines. As a cycling enthusiast, he has for years been trying to make a bicycle from cardboard. Yes you read that correctly - from corrugated paper - cardboard. It has taken him almost two years of trial and error, but the finished result (as seen above) is close to being ready for mass production. The cardboard is treated with a secret mixture of organic materials to make it waterproof and fireproof and then coated with lacquer paint. To test its durability, a cross section was immersed in water for several months. It lost none of its hardened properties. The bicycles are not only very cheap to make, they are very light and do not need to be adjusted or repaired. The solid tires are made of reconstituted rubber from old car tires will never get a puncture. "I'm repeatedly surprised at just how strong this material is, it is amazing. Once we are ready to go into production, the bike will have no metal parts at all," Gafni said. The finished bike weighs about 60% of the standard model (about 20 pounds). The bicycles should sell for about $20.00 and the cost of materials is about $9.00. So why should this matter to you? The next product in line will be a Wheelchair !! Apply the above characteristics and what might you get? A wheelchair that is lighter, less expensive and potentially capable of being "manufactured" at a clinic or a Rehab Dealership on a patient by patient basis. The environmental advantages are undeniable and a value to all of us. This might change how we think about the entire nature of manual wheelchairs. Intriguing - to say the least. The cost of this product is potentially so low. For budget strapped clinics and long term care facilities, Gafini's business model of "giving away the bikes for free" is fascinating. How? By finding a corporate sponsor who would underwrite the entire cost in exchange for having a "movable advertising" platform. This could be a boon to current budget woes. For the rehab facility, especially one serving the Medicaid population, working with materials and products like these might allow for a return to "cottage manufacturing" making customized manual chairs or the ability to modify chairs if the patient had significant changes in body size or configuration. KBET - FREE Giveaway Every month we are giving away FREE product samples Dealer employees and Clinicians. We hope this "GelO Collection' will become a KEY part of your problem solving toolkit. Some months, it will be a contest to win an expensive sample like our new Dimensions Toilet Seat Pad Covers !!! This is not a mushroom. It is a THIN Knee Button - JUST what the patient may need for COMFORT & PROTECTION. Pass this email along to your co-workers so they can start their collection. Our January giveaway is our fabulous KBET. Knee Button Elevating (leg) THIN. KBE was the second Gel Ovations product ever made - Knee Button for Elevating legrests. It was quickly followed by KBM for moveable / swing away foot rests. These 4" round by 1 ¼" thick knee buttons remain popular. Did you know that we also make ¾" THIN versions - KBET & KBMT ? Just ask and we will send you a sample KBET.